Mortal Friendships
by Nymph of Faeryland
Summary: Annabeth's friends think they're her besties- that they know everything about Annabeth. They're proved wrong when Percy Jackson comes along, and they find out just how many secrets Annabeth's been keeping.
1. Who's Percy Jackson?

I don't own Percy Jackson, and it's sad but true. I'm just a nobody

Mark's POV:

I've known Annabeth Chase for a while. We met in New York when we were just six, in first grade together. I was at Annabeth's seventh birthday party.

When Annabeth ran away from home, I didn't really know what had happened. I was just a kid. My family moved away to San Francisco, California, when I was eight. When I thought of Annabeth after this, I just assumed she'd come back or something after I left.

Then, miraculously, Annabeth reappeared in my San Francisco school one day when we were twelve. I'd had a bit of a crush on her when we were kids and she'd just gotten prettier- blond princess curls and those gray eyes that ruined her California girl image. She told me that in the years we'd missed she'd been mostly at a year-round camp for kids on Long Island. She went back that summer, for her thirteenth birthday.

From then on, her seventh was the only birthday I attended, the rest being at camp. She came back as late as possible and left as early as she could for breaks and summertime. Our little friend group never really questioned her, she was a little evasive of 'camp' questions and when we asked to go always shot us down fast.

"Hey, Annabeth, I've got a question." Amy asked. Our friend group, me (Mark), Joseph (Joey), Amy, and Laura, were playing a game of 'Did You Know' where you asked questions about things you didn't know.

"Yes?" Annabeth was kneeling on the ground with a string in her hand, turning it around and around.

"Who's the closest person to you ever? Like, more than family, like, a best friend/not-blood-family?" Amy shot me a look. Everyone knew of my crush on Annabeth. I smiled at her, anticipating her answer.

Annabeth smiled, too. "Percy Jackson." I swear my eyes bugged out comically. I gagged silently for a moment.

"Who now?"

"Percy Jackson. He's my friend I met when we were eleven. He convinced me to come back here with Dad and everything…I owe him a lot. And look- if he hadn't done that, I would never have met any of you."

"Except me," I supplied. Annabeth acknowledged it with an amused nod, gray eyes sparkling. God, those eyes were beautiful.

"Except you." It was moments like these where I wanted to hug her, or even kiss her, or ask her out or _something_ instead of standing here. "But yeah…Percy's the guy." That made me stiffen, and Laura gave her a quizzical glance.

"The guy?" Annabeth blushed for a moment.

"The person, we aren't dating or anything like that at all." Joey raised an eyebrow- he was a bit of a matchmaker sometimes.

"So how come _we've_ never met _the guy?"_ he wiggled his eyebrows. Annabeth slapped him, hard.

"He lives in New York, where camp is." Camp again. How come we could never go to 'camp'? Why was he allowed? "Percy's not very…high income, he's only met his dad twice, I think, and his mom works in a sweetshop. So he doesn't get to visit unless our camp friend Nico takes him, or something else." I noticed the 'something' in Annabeth's sentence.

"Will we ever get to meet your 'camp' friends? Or actually _visit_ your camp?" Annabeth started to answer but I cut her off. "Come on, Annabeth. It's not so bad in San Francisco for the summer, and we miss you when you take off an hour after school's out. We can't do anything really fun on weekends."

"My camp is very selective," she said at last, "it looks for a certain type of people, and you guys aren't really it. Actually, Percy does come often sometimes, right time right place will do it. And Camp is my favorite place ever! I…if we're friends, you'll let me go." That silenced us, and we shared a look. Threatening our friendship. But I pressed on.

"Selective, Annabeth? What are you that we aren't?" that made her pause and the looks we were giving her, feeling hurt and betrayed by Annabeth's words, and the fact that she adamantly refused to let us go, with a new excuse every time, made her speak again.

"_Different."_ She whispered, and her voice, so broken, made the world of sadness and loss that always lurked under the surface of her gray eyes break free. "You aren't different like I am, like Percy, Nico, Thalia, Katie, Connor, Travis, Will, Clarisse, Austin, Beckendorf, Drew, Silena are. We are different in a way you can't imagine, so drop it, okay?" we were stunned silent. "I'm going to the bathroom." She said, standing.

"Wow." Amy said after a while. "You got more out of her that time. But, uh, I don't think she's going to go out with you for some time after this." I managed a smile, but my heart was turning to dust.

"Yeah. I just…it's like Annabeth has a whole other life that she hides from us, that this isn't the real Annabeth, and I want to know Annabeth Chase without lock and key hiding her life. Where did she go when she was seven? What is camp? How is she different?" I was frustrated and I kicked the side of the couch. Mr. and Mrs. Chase, Annabeth's dad and stepmom, weren't home, and Bobby and Matthew, her twin stepbrothers, were upstairs horsing around.

Laura, bored, rang the doorbell from the inside, and the two twins came running down. "Percy?" they exclaimed. "Connor? Travis? Thalia?" they blinked.

"Where are they? We heard the doorbell. Where's Percy? He's the best ever!"

Wow, I thought. They must really know this Percy person. And love him.

I tried to swallow hurt that they didn't like me like they apparently liked Percy. But it didn't go down very easily.

Annabeth was back from the bathroom. "My turn to ask a question. Hey, Mark, this one's for you. Who's the closest person to _you_ ever? _Your _best friend, not-blood-family?" I swallowed, hard. The rest of us knew the answer to this, but Annabeth, Annabeth-whose-best-friend-wasn't-really-me, did not. Because the answer was her. And her answer was supposed to be _me._ That was the way things were. How could your best friend be a person you never saw? That was for adults. We were thirteen.

"You." I said simply, watching her face. A display of emotions came across her face- shock, surprise, joy, dismay, confusion, irritation, anger, grief, guilt, warring across her face like a light display being clicked on and off again and again.

"_What?"_ she said when she spoke again. Why was she so worked up? "That's not right. It's not _supposed_ to be me." Heh. Her answer was supposed to be me, but mine not supposed to be her? Hmph. Why not?

"You aren't supposed to say me. I'm Annabeth Chase. I ruin everything. I ruined Luke. I ruined Thalia. I couldn't save them. I can't save you. That's why I have Percy. You can't. Pick Joey, Amy, Laura, _anyone!_ I can't save you. Nothing I do is permanent. Nothing I build is going to stand up…like a lighthouse in the storm, the only thing is…" I could guess the answer now, and anger built in my throat.

"The only thing is _what,_ Annabeth? _Percy Jackson?_ Your best friend? Your answer was supposed to be me. We're best friends. That's what you've said. But I guess like everything else it was all under lock and key, a hidden part of your life, another lie." Hurt rippled across her face, mouth slightly open, eyes wide. She couldn't believe I'd said that, and I couldn't believe it either. This was _Annabeth._ The girl I…well, I'd fallen in love with her and I was afraid I would never be free, and Percy had ruined my illusions that she liked me too. It was so obvious! I'd never been the one and I never would be with Percy.

The bell rang, for real this time. Annabeth was actually crying, and Joey, Amy, and Laura looked between us like a ping pong match.

"Percy?" she gasped. She threw herself into the waiting arms of a stranger. _"Percy!"_

"Wise Girl! Hey!" he studied her face. "Why are you crying?"


	2. He Literally Saved Her

_I know a bunch of you were excited for me to update again so here is the next chapter! I will try to update every few days so check it often and if there's anything you specifically think I should include please put in in reviews or PM!_

_I still don't own PJO, and it's sad. But I do own Mark, Amy, Laura, and Joey, so…that's good, I guess?_

_Mark's POV_

Great. Just great. I studied this 'Percy' character that Annabeth was hugging, almost sobbing into his shoulder. He was basically everything I, and or Annabeth, wasn't. Dark hair, pretty much black, and pale, not at all tanned like us California people were…or Annabeth, at least. How she kept a tan I had no idea. And his eyes…mine were boring old brown, but his were sea-green, stunning.

Annabeth was shaking and still leaning into the embrace, and she muttered something into his shoulder.

"It's not nothing, Annabeth." He noticed us. "Who are these people?" _These people._ So Annabeth hadn't talked to Percy about us, either. Why was she so keen to separate _school_ and _camp_?

Annabeth muttered something to him again and he scrutinized us, a worry crease on his forehead becoming prominent. "Your friends?" Annabeth nodded. "Well, uh, Annabeth's friends, Annabeth and I are going to, uh, go to her room…and we'll come back out later." The rest of us looked together, and by a silent agreement (okay, we're nosy) tiptoed up to Annabeth's closed door, where we listened to a conversation.

"I just feel so stupid…" Annabeth was saying, "I think the last time I actually _cried _in front of people was when Luke and Thalia found me in the garbage bin when I was seven and I told them about the spiders…"

"It's not stupid, Annabeth, everyone cries. Some people just let it out differently…and there isn't any shame in crying in front of people. It's not going to hurt anything."

"But I _do_ hurt things! I hurt Luke. I should've realized he had those feelings for me…and if I did, I brushed them off even though I liked him too. And I didn't do anything about it and he got all cold and bitter and tried to _kill you._" I looked at Joey, Amy, and Laura, eyes wide.

"But he didn't, Annabeth, because _you_ trained me and I'm still here."

"Yes, but I'm not good enough. I was so stupid, jumping onto the Dr. Thorn's back. He took me down with him, and you and Thalia and Grover and Zoë had to _save_ me because me, Annabeth Chase, the one there the longest, got _kidnapped."_ She was still crying, though quietly, oblivious to us listening as she cried on Percy Jackson's shoulder.

"Wise Girl, I was the stupid one. I went after Dr. Thorn and Nico and Bianca and I lost sight of you guys, I'm the one that messed it up and got you taken. It's all my fault, Annabeth. Mine."

"No." and then they were quiet, and by some unspoken agreement we went back downstairs.

Back onto the couch, where we stared at each other in silence.

"Wow," Laura said. "Annabeth got _kidnapped?_ You know, when we didn't see her for a whole two weeks after winter break ended, I just thought she was spending more time at camp for a while, winding down." (I know the quest wasn't like three weeks, but in my version, Annabeth spends time at camp to rest and recuperate before going back).

"And Percy saved her? What is this, Superman saves a helpless citizen?" they just stared at me. "Right. Not funny."

"Who is Luke?" Joey asked out loud. But we never got to talk after that, because Annabeth and Percy came back down, Annabeth's eyes a little red and Percy's shirt wet, but otherwise looking normal.

"Speak of the devil," Annabeth said dryly. "Guys, this is Percy Jackson, who we were talking about just now, remember? Percy, this is Joey, Amy, Laura, and Mark." Of course she said my name last. Maybe I was reading everything too deeply. It meant nothing, right? Girls are so impossible.

"Hey! I'm not a devil!" Percy protested.

"Yeah, you are, Seaweed Brain. Popping up to my house at all hours of day and night, bringing Connor and Travis to Bobby and Matthew…" at that Percy paled.

"I'll never do it again," he vowed. "To be fair, I do do that sometimes, but remember? When I saved myself and all the campers from Clarisse's ritual!"

"Toilet water all over me," Annabeth told him, raising an eyebrow.

"You could just let it go! I also seem to remember beating you in Capture-the-Flag too," Percy smirked. It was a sarcastic, trouble-maker smirk."

"Auntie Em's Garden Gnome Emporium!" Annabeth told him.

"Hmph. Lotus Hotel and Casino!"

"Grover: 'that is Uncle Ferdinand!'" they cracked up laughing, in some weird inside joke thingy they had. The laughter went on forever, and we gave awkward glances at each other, the rest of us.

"I'm being rude," Annabeth said. "Uh, you guys, do you want to stay for dinner? Percy will cook it." Percy looked at her sideways with his green seal eyes.

"I will?" Annabeth glared at him.

"Yes, you will."

"Hmph. Fine. By the way, Nico might come in sometime, he dropped me off and went to nap."

"Sure, I'll stay," I think I surprised myself in saying that. Laura, Amy, and Joey consented, Annabeth's dad and stepmom were on a romantic getaway, we'd be alone, and I needed to wedge myself between Percy and Annabeth before he really became 'the guy'.

"So, Percy, why'd you drop in?" I asked casually. Percy's eyes flicked to Annabeth's face.

"I needed to talk to Wise Girl here about a school thing…by the way, Annabeth, can we talk? I have, um, something from my mom for you, and a request…" he said awkwardly.

"Ugh, Percy, I'm not getting up again, just say it." Annabeth murmured, looking tired after the meal Percy had cooked. It had been pretty good.

"Fine," Percy flushed a little. "I, um, have gotten another…expulsion." I almost choked.

"You've been _expelled?"_ our group was a good kid's group. We didn't get referrals or in-school suspensions.

"Uh, yeah. I have dyslexia and ADHD, so I don't do well in school. Anyway, Annabeth, Mom was wondering if I could shadow you tomorrow because we've, uh, kinda run out of schools in the area."

"Oh! That would be great!" Annabeth gave him a hug, cheeks flushing pink. "Seaweed Brain, you could live with me if you came!" I almost choked on my root beer. A strange guy _living_ with Annabeth? _My _Annabeth? I'd had a crush on her for _years_ and some guy starts living with her? Dear God, life was not fair.

"Well, uh, I have to get going," I said shortly, unable to swallow all of my feelings, "see you tomorrow, Annabeth, Laura, Amy, Joey." I deliberately left out Percy but I could see Annabeth's face, hurt and confused, wondering what she'd done. Wasn't it so obvious? I had practically come on to her several times but no! She had no idea.

"Yeah, we've got to go too," I heard my other friends say, catching up to me outside the house, "wait, Mark!"

Laura looked at me in concern. "So…Annabeth's being shadowed tomorrow, huh? By her 'bestie'?"

"It's just, like, so unfair. I've had a crush on her, more than a crush, for years, but does she notice, care? No. And now there's Percy who's going to move here and they're going to start dating. He saved her from a kidnapping. She cried into his shoulder when he came in. I'll never have a chance with her now."

"You don't know that." Laura said, sitting down. "Percy and Annabeth obviously have a lot of history, but you knew her when you guys were seven. Annabeth comes back to us every year for school. That's got to mean something when she used to just stay at camp every year. And, in his defense, Percy seems like a pretty cool guy. I, for one, am going to give him a chance."

"Laura!" I couldn't believe she was betraying me like this.

Laura looked at me pointedly. "Don't turn him down just because he's Annabeth's best friend and you aren't. I've got to go, school's tomorrow, so…I'll catch you guys later."

Laura walked away, and after a moment, Joey and Amy walked after her. And I was alone, with nothing but a few thoughts I wasn't sure I wanted.

(the next day, Monday, back at school)

I walked through the hall. I had four classes out of seven with Annabeth, three with Amy, two with Joey and three with Laura. My schedule looked sort of like this:

1st Period: Science with Amy and Joey

2nd Period: Math with Annabeth

3rd Period: Greek with Annabeth, Joey, and Laura

4th Period: Orchestra Elective with Amy

5th Period: Language Arts with Annabeth and Amy

Lunch

6th Period: Social Studies with Laura

7th Period: Gym with Annabeth and Laura

So as I walked towards Math after Science, I'd almost forgotten about Percy shadowing Annabeth. Then I remembered, when I saw a dark-haired, green-eyed boy sitting in the back next to Annabeth in _my_ spot.

"Hey, Mark," Percy said casually. He really didn't get how much I hated him right now. First, he stole my crush away and now my seat?! Who was this guy anyway?

"Uh…" Annabeth had realized now that Percy was in my seat. "Can you, Mark, sit over here?" Great. Just great. She wanted me to sit in the empty seat next to Cody, the school bully. I tried to give Annabeth a stink-eye but couldn't manage it and I heard her laughing at something Percy had said.

Was I ever going to have a chance with Annabeth Chase?

In Greek, which I had with Annabeth, Joey, and Laura, it was surprising. Percy joined in the class, and he knew almost as much as Annabeth with Greek mythology involved. It was kind of terrifying.

And then there was gym class. I knew Annabeth was athletic but she and Percy topped the class easily.

"Hey, Mark, guess what?"

"Percy?"

"I've made the decision! I'm going to transfer here with you guys!"

_Percy is transferring to Annabeth's middle school- and maybe high school! Will Mark have a chance?_


	3. He's Actually Moving to be With Her

_Updates may not be coming as often anymore, but I'm still posting. I'm working on a Percabeth wedding thing and also a story request from _sketchywolf_ which I will hopefully post the first chapter of soon, so check that out plz and review!_

"Really?" for Percy I put on a happy face, but inside I was just even more annoyed at this guy who I'd only known for two days. "Are you sure? I mean, it's a big move from all the way across the country…"

"Why wouldn't I be sure? I know that I won't get expelled again if Annabeth's here to help me, I'll be fine. And I get to hang out with you guys, too!" he said this as if he were genuinely happy about this.

"Percy? Can I ask you a question?" I was supposed to meet Annabeth at the Chase house in a few minutes but I needed to talk to her 'best friend' first.

"Sure. Whatever you need." He was pretty compliant which threw me off at first, but I gathered my courage.

"I, uh, kind of have a crush on Annabeth," I said shakily, "and since you're, you know, her best friend, I hoped you would have a tip on how I can ask her out without being, uh, shot down?" Percy looked at me in some kind of shock.

"You want to ask out Annabeth?" his voice was slow and kind of afraid, almost. _Ah-ha!_ I wanted to say. _I've hit a nerve. Now you know Annabeth is _mine.

"Uh, yeah. We've been friends for years. And it's April. She'll be fifteen, same as me, in a few months on the twelfth of July."

"Yeah…I'm not so sure about Annabeth," Percy said. "She's not really the trusting type."

"We've known each other for years," I say again slowly. "Years." Was he really not getting it? He was dyslexic, same as Annabeth. And they both had ADHD. Weird.

"Yeah, but she knew Luke for years, too." Percy muttered. I wasn't meant to hear it, but I pursued this thing about 'Luke'.

"Who's Luke?" Percy's eyes widened. He looked kind of like a deer caught in headlights, and he cursed in a language I couldn't understand.

"He's nobody. Annabeth wanted us to meet at her house, we should get going." His quick change of subject wasn't unnoticed but I dropped it, and silently we walked to Annabeth's house, but another question came to mind.

"What is camp? Annabeth said you met there, but she doesn't tell us what it is." He looked at me sideways, shifting a little under my cool gaze. I like to think it was cool, at least. I don't know.

"Well, Mark, Camp is a place for, uh, troubled kids, you could say. I joined it two years ago after being expelled from Yancy Academy in New York, the math teacher really had it in for me." _How could Annabeth, sweet, sweet Annabeth Chase, be a _troubled kid?

"How many times have you been expelled?" Percy seemed a little uncomfortable now but he answered my questions easily, casually. Like he'd already talked about this several times before.

"Well, sometimes it was because things just happened to me. I got stalked on the playground in third grade by a huge man in a trench coat, so Mom moved me. She's the best. But, well, I get expelled a lot because of my ADHD and dyslexia, which makes it really hard to be a good student in school." We'd reached the Chase house, Annabeth's parents still weren't home from the getaway but Annabeth, Laura, Amy and Joey were.

"Hey! Mark, Seaweed Brain." She said my name first. That was good. I was the first. I'd win her back yet. "I thought we could get to know each other, since Percy…" she squeezed his hand, "is transferring here!" she was ecstatic. It was cute, except that the ecstasy was for Percy's school transfer in the middle of our eighth grade year.

My traitorous friends offered their congrats, Laura giving me an evil eye because I was glowering at Percy Jackson.

"We can go around and say things about us. Mark, you go first." Of course I was first, though I didn't mind too much. I couldn't say no to Annabeth, no matter what. Even if I wasn't her best friend.

"Well, I'm Mark, I guess. I play the cello."

"Amy," Amy said. She really was pretty, with dark auburn curls and hazel, bright hazel eyes, freckles. "I play the recorder, which is a type of pipe instrument."

"Heh," Percy said. "My friend Grover plays the panpipe. He loves to play 'Strawberry Fields Forever', but once he…" Percy grimaced, and Annabeth started giggling.

"Oh my gods," she said, "his whole 'Finding Pan' thing."

"Shh!" he warned her. Annabeth stopped laughing and faced us, mouth set and expression grim.

"I'm Joseph, call me Joey. I like making things out of wood."

"Panpipes?" that sent Annabeth into another fit of giggles, and Percy laughed too. "Cabin 4 did better!" he choked out, and the two were laughing at another private joke.

"Coffee."

"Wedding dress."

"Unraveling veil."

"Heh." Percy said, cracking a smile. "Well, Wise Girl, I do feel better about this whole thing now."

"Of course. You're with me." And then I started to realize. Annabeth had a crush on him. Percy Jackson. The sarcastic delinquent with the seal eyes and all the private jokes, she had a crush on him the same way I had a crush on her. And it broke my heart because they were being all sweet and Annabeth said it without even blushing, as if it were natural.

"Well, uh," Laura said with a glance at me. My fists were clenched in my lap, staring at her with Percy Jackson like it was the most natural thing in the world, being with him. "I'm Laura?" they said nothing. "Annabeth? Annabeth! ANNABETH!" she jumped away from him.

"If you're quite finished," she said primly. "I'm Laura. Now, Annabeth, do we get to ask Percy questions?" Annabeth was blushing, definitely blushing, after being called so many times because she was busy watching Percy.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Sure."

"Percy, how exactly did you meet Annabeth?" he stilled and they had a conversation with their eyes. He was just as cagey as Annabeth when it came to camp! Why was it so 'must hide'?

"Well, when I first got to camp, I had had a really _weird,_ bad day, and I uh, hit my head?" he said it like a question. "So, Annabeth was nursing me in the infirmary."

"Aw." Amy said. She was a romantic, that one. Dreaming and hoping for a day in the fields with a guy, where she'd have her first kiss or something like that.

"What's Annabeth like in 'Camp'?" Joey asked, mischievously. "Is she a bad girl?" he asked mockingly. Annabeth glared at him, and Joey backed off. She had a pretty intimidating glare.

"Oh, she's very different." Percy said. "She's the same when she's not around…" his voice trailed off and I wondered what he'd meant to say. "Well, Camp Annabeth and your Annabeth are pretty close together, all you'd have to do would be, well, replace the comp…" he stopped talking again. Annabeth looked at him.

"Replace the?" I asked. "When she's not around what?" I didn't know why I needed answers so badly right now, but something was off about what Percy was saying about Annabeth.

"What Seaweed Brain means is, depending on what's happening around me, I can be a very different person," Annabeth muttered something under his breath to Percy that sounded like gibberish to me. I should start looking it up. I could learn all their secrets if I just jotted down their language and ran it through Google Translate…

"When do you start going to school, Percy?" Joey asked. "We should take you around San Francisco! Show you all the cool places." I realized Joey was slowly becoming friends with him, sucking up to Percy Jackson and it didn't feel good to know that my friends were now his friends too.

"I start in two days. Once Nico's ready to take me back to get my stuff packed and then back again." He answered easily. His eyes darted upstairs, though I wasn't sure why.

"Who's Nico?"

"A friend. From camp. He's the best with traveling so he takes me. I don't have the money nor the luck to fly."

"The luck?" I was asked, but just then, a skinny, black haired, olive-skinned boy, maybe eleven, appeared from upstairs. (I know Nico isn't really Percy's friend in the books right now but I didn't really have a good way to transport Percy back and forth.)

"Nico! You're awake." Percy sounded relieved, Annabeth gave him a hug, and he stiffened, grimacing a little.

"Yes." He said shortly, and Annabeth stepped back, a little hurt and confused. "Percy, we need to go."

"Of course, Nico." Percy shot a glance at Annabeth, the worry line creasing his forehead before giving her a hug. "I'll be back before you know it, okay?" Yeesh, it was like he was talking to a person with attachment issues or something, and Annabeth almost looked afraid to let him go.

"Yeah. Just…just come back." A nervous tremor was in her voice then, and that scared _me._ I had always known Annabeth Chase as a girl who, well, she was tough, she'd run away as a little kid. Knowing now that last winter when she left right after break started, and came back late a little different, a little more edgy, and having dyed her hair silver, a single streak in the front, she'd actually been kidnapped, I could understand that part. What really threw me was that _Percy_ saved her, that _Percy,_ apparently just a camp friend, saved her from a kidnapping. Those were serious, and no matter how good he was in a gym class a kid couldn't do that. And _Percy_ had a single silver streak in his hair too, some sort of weird punk thing they apparently had decided to do, and match. I hadn't asked, but I definitely would next time we were together.

Because Annabeth and Percy were involved in something dangerous if Annabeth had been kidnapped, and I couldn't let Percy drag Annabeth down into that.

I was in love with her. And one of the funny things about love, I'd learned, is that you can't seem to let the person you're in love with away from you for too long. It was why I had such a hard time with her leaving.

Why Annabeth was having such a hard time letting Percy Jackson leave her, even for a day or two. How often did he visit?

Percy smiled, his eyes, like Annabeth's, were full of darkness and loss, and with Nico walked out the door.

"Okay, one, that kid is _way_ too young to drive." Amy said. "Also, what's his deal with you, he was just…curt." Annabeth shook her head.

"I don't know. I met Nico during winter break…he was new to Camp. His sister, Bianca, died that winter break as well…he's had a bad time with being an orphan with no family at all anymore."

_Camp for troubled kids,_ I heard Percy say in my mind. I could see an orphan whose sister had just died being a troubled kid, but it sounded more like Bianca had died after going to camp, but then they were already orphans apparently. Percy, with dyslexia and ADHD, and multiple expulsions, I could see him being a troubled kid. But Annabeth? Goody-two-shoes, perfect, smart, straight-A-student Annabeth Chase, was not a troubled kid. So she had a stepmother who she hadn't liked until recently, two stepbrothers who were pills…she wasn't troubled.

"Annabeth? Percy said your camp was for 'troubled kids'. So, how do you fit into that?" Annabeth looked surprised.

"_That's_ what he said? Makes sense. Remember, I ran away when I was seven. I have my own problems, dyslexia, ADHD. Let it go. You guys should go. Percy and Nico will be back before you know it."

_So now Percy and Nico have been fully introduced! What did you guys think? Leave a review please!_


	4. The Marvelous Percy Jackson

_Thanks for the support from _Potatoqueensnow, _and _Auralia9514! _It's nice that people like it enough to review, especially since I wasn't really sure how it would be received._

_Also, some people have been swearing in the reviews, using the a-word and the s-word and maybe some of you don't feel like it's a bad word but it is for me and if you put in a review, please don't swear in it._

_I don't own PJO, but I do own the plotline of Mortal Friendships. Here's Chapter 4._

Since we all lived relatively close to each other, since we all had gone to one of the feeder elementary schools for our middle school, we all walked together in the mornings, usually. Today, though, Percy Jackson was starting school here, and Annabeth had been dropped off with him by Mr. Chase, her dad.

"So what do you guys think of Percy?" Joey asked. "And Mark, I swear to God, if you say, 'I hate him. He stole Annabeth from me', I am going to just ignore you for the rest of the day or something."

"I'm not going to say that!" I protested. Joey raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe I'm not very, well, comfortable, with Percy Jackson because I have a crush on Annabeth. Okay. But it's not like I hate his guts or something because he's Annabeth's best friend and I'm not." Still Joey looked a bit skeptical. I guess he's my best friend now or something. I don't really want to be the guy who pathetically follows the girl around even though it's never going to work out. If I'm not that guy already. Annabeth, however, draws you in with big eyes and a happy smile and her fierceness. One day I'll figure out that loss in her eyes and she'll be so happy with me that I helped her that she'll go from Percy Jackson to Mark.

"Mark?" Laura waved her hand in front of my face. "You zoned out. I wonder what elective Percy is going to be taking. We've got Marine Sciences, Woodshop, Orchestra/Band/Choir, Home Economics, Art, Theatre."

"I bet Orchestra," Joey said. "Or Theatre. He's a bit dramatic." Laura laughed at him.

"_He's_ a bit dramatic? You are one to talk." As they arrived at the school, I held the door, almost afraid to go inside.

Percy was holding his schedule, squinting in half confusion, half bewilderment.

"How will I know where all of these are?" he complained to Annabeth. "Where's the Marine Sciences room?" Annabeth smiled and laughed at him, gray eyes twinkling. She'd dressed in dark blue skinny jeans and a sea-green blouse, combining rugged and pretty.

"Relax. Because of my relation to you, I'm guiding you today. I bring you in early and take you out of classes early so I can show you around. It's for three days." she turned and spotted us standing there. "Hey Mark, Amy, Laura, Joey."

"You look nice," I said after a moment. She really did. Her blond hair had been braided too, down her back.

"Really? Wow, I guess Percy's good for something after all. He picked this out." She gestured at it. Percy, on the other hand, was wearing jeans and a gray sweater, looking discomfited.

"What are your classes?" Amy questioned. "Do you take orchestra?" Percy shook his head. "Marine Sciences."

"Me too." Annabeth looked up casually at Laura's statement, eyes narrowed, waiting.

"Percy, we need to go to your locker." He looked confused but followed Annabeth away, glancing back at us as he went. "Come on!" Annabeth hurried him. "I just don't..."

Turns out I had the same English and Greek classes with Percy, and also Annabeth. It was uncanny how much they both knew of Greek, both knowing of Circe's tendency to turn men into animals- Percy blushed at that one- and of the fact that Atlas was the titan who held the sky- they winced and touched the streaks of gray in their hair.

In English, Percy flubbed out, unable to really read because of his dyslexia, and Annabeth too.

"Percy is great with marine science!" Laura babbled at lunch. "He knew everything- what the fish wanted. It was like he was part fish." At that Percy and Annabeth started laughing. Happy, hilarious laughter, tears in their eyes.

"Sorry!" Annabeth wiped the tears away. "Inside joke. Heh." they started laughing again, and we stood there looking uncomfortable. "Percy part-fish…" Percy was laughing with her, but he was also partially glaring at her, protesting.

"Hey, Annabeth, that's not very fair…"

"Oh, that's right, you're part guinea pig." Annabeth started snickering again and Percy blushed bright red.

"Hey! That was a year ago! You fell for it for a time too! And then you released all the guinea pigs!" Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"Well, if someone had been quick enough to get out of it…"

"You have, well, _your mother_ as your mother. It's no surprise that you got out of it! Don't pick on the stupider kids, Annabeth, you're supposed to be a cabin counselor."

"Well, with _your father, _it's no surprise you aren't as smart as Cabin Six!"

"Leave my dad out of it!"

"Leave my mom out of it!"

"You brought it up!" the argument was bewildering to the rest of us, and eventually they calmed down, leaving us wondering. Annabeth's real mother we'd never met, because she'd been MIA Annabeth's whole life- Annabeth had told us she didn't even know where her lived, what she did for a job.

"Hey, guys, it's almost time for sixth period…" Amy said uneasily. We glanced back and forth like a tennis match, unsure of what to do.

"Come on, Percy, it's time for your Mathematics class." Annabeth snapped. "Let's go." They strolled off, bickering even more as they went.

By seventh period gym, I met up with Percy and Annabeth walking down to gym. However, there was a crash behind us and Percy and Annabeth stayed behind to see what had happened. They came in five minutes late, already red-faced and flushed.

"Sorry!" Annabeth squeaked. Gym class had already gathered in the gym. "Mr. Gonzalez, this is Percy Jackson, a transfer student."

Mr. Gonzalez just told them to hurry and get dressed. I noticed Percy slip a pen out of his jeans pocket. What was he planning to do? Ink his name onto the school's gym clothes? The two quickly changed, Annabeth coming out a few moments after Percy did. I could see in the pocket of Percy's gym shorts the same ink pen. I noticed both of them were wearing a leather necklace with clay beads on it. Looking closer, Percy's only had two and Annabeth's necklace had seven. But two of Annabeth's matched the two on Percy's- a black bead with a turquoise trident and a golden sheep's fleece on the second. Also on Annabeth's was a ring, a college ring, probably her father's. Standing in a T-shirt and shorts, the necklaces were very apparent.

"Everybody, run as many laps as you can in ten minutes." Laura, also in the gym class, jogged next to me for about two minutes before starting to fall behind, though I slowed somewhat as well. Even the fittest, most athletic guys/girls in the class were lagging, and I noticed Annabeth wasn't jogging with us after a while. I saw, no doubt, that she was running with Percy- and _really_ running. The two of them passed the tired class so many times the number of laps they completed must have been at least twenty, by the time ten minutes were over, and it was a big track. Everyone stared at them.

"I've been so tired of holding back." Annabeth murmured. "It was great, for a warm-up." _Warm-up? _That should have been the highlight of class! And yet they were still talking and laughing without heavy pants, and I could feel Laura watching them too.

"Do you feel like they're…more than they seem? As soon as Percy joins in gym, Annabeth's the best runner, along with him, in the class. I feel like she was able to do that before, but she didn't want to be…noticed as much, and it's like with him she isn't afraid anymore." Laura nodded.

"What was with the weird fight, all starting with Percy's proficiency in Marine Sciences? Guinea pigs, and their parents…I thought Annabeth didn't even know her mom. And Percy's never mentioned a father, just that his mother's the best." Before I could reply, Percy and Annabeth jogged up to us. How were they still running? I was pretty sure Mr. Gonzalez had done this so that the class would be too tired to talk anymore than necessary, and he was staring at Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase just the same as the rest of us.

"Well, stretch, I guess," he muttered. "Yeesh, they're on something." Laura and I stared at him, and at each other. The notion that Annabeth, at least, goody-two-shoes, perfect Annabeth Chase, would be taking drugs to be the best in gym class, was impossible. Percy, while I didn't know him as well, didn't seem the type to do drugs either, plus, he could never have dragged Annabeth into it.

"What's with the necklaces?" Amy asked later that day. "And the hair?" Annabeth's hand reached protectively up to her leather necklace chain and Percy's to the silver streak of dyed hair near his forehead.

"Oh- it's nothing, just some beads we found," Annabeth stammered.

"We just decided it would look cool," Percy tugged on the silver locks as if wishing he could pull them out, and his eyes were full of pain. "But after all we went through to get them, I'm not going to remove them." He locked eyes with Annabeth and it was clear she was the only one who knew 'all we went through to get them'.

"Why does Annabeth have more beads, then?" Amy went on innocently, I had a feeling she knew exactly what she was torturing them with. That girl is sly as a fox.

"She wouldn't let me have any of them," Percy muttered, elbowing Annabeth a little bit, who cursed in some sort of language and glared at Percy.

"You weren't there for them." She muttered back. "You're acting too hard."

(time passes)

Percy had gone to a general store to get gum or something, so I was alone with Annabeth. Now was the time to make a move, otherwise Mr. Jackson over there would get there first.

"Annabeth?" she turned and faced me. Her blouse was starting to slip off one shoulder, and her gray eyes accented it nicely.

"Uh- your shirt." She gave a murmur of surprise, reaching up to tuck the sleeve back up on her shoulder so that her white bra strap was no longer visible. "Also- do you want to go see a movie?"

"Sure." My heart leapt. "Who else is going with us?"

My mind blanked. Going with us? Why would someone be going with us? To chaperone? "What do you mean, who's going with us?"

"Who else is going?" she repeated, and my spirits plummeted.

"I sort of meant as a date," I said, embarrassed. She blushed.

"I just, sorry, Mark, but I don't think of you that way. I'm interested in someone else." I tried not to look down. "Go as friends? Six on Friday night?"

"Yeah. Yeah, okay."


	5. Movies and Breakfast

**Hey! **

**Thanks for the reviews from **_**Potatoqueensnow**_** and three guest users! My new story request 'Heroes of Artemis' recently got published so please look at that…**

**I haven't really updated in a while because I'm in my school district's All-City Honor Band and so practice has been taking up my life since Thursday. I've practiced for twelve freaking hours for it since Thursday and it's only Saturday. But tonight is the concert, and then I'm off the hook.**

**I promise I'll write another chapter on Sunday for you guys too, and I'll try to publish it.**

On Friday night, I walked to the Chases' house to pick Annabeth up for our not-date at the movies. I'd dressed casually, in jeans and a T-shirt, since it wasn't a date after all.

Annabeth was wearing a gray dress with silver sequins and embroidery on the top, and I was obvious underdressed, and she thought so too, her face fell a little when she saw me. I immediately second-guessed my clothing _and _our not-date.

Maybe Annabeth had realized she_ did _want to date me? Maybe she wasn't in love with Percy anymore? Maybe she'd been playing hard to get? Whatever the reason, the dress looked stunning. She was still wearing the seven-bead leather necklace, I don't think she ever took it off.

"Ready to go, Annabeth?" she nodded, and I noticed a piece of homework on the table with Percy's scrawl paired with Annabeth's neat handwriting and felt a twinge of jealousy. It was math homework, and why was she helping him? I asked for help with the Pythagorean Theorem, but she would decline. Another privilege of Percy Jackson's, and while we were getting closer, I had to admit, I was still very much in love with Annabeth and almost more, with the competitive factor in the crush now.

We ended up watching Hercules, since I thought it would be cool to see, though Annabeth spent most of it giggling at it, muttering about 'imperfection'.

Afterward, we went out for ice cream and Annabeth smiled at me across the table. "I had fun tonight," she said. "Do you want to go to breakfast tomorrow? Maybe at nine?" Immediately my mind blanked. Was she asking me on a real date now?

"Yeah, sure!" I grinned back at her, and she stood, pushing her chair in at the ice cream shop, getting ready to go. It was nine thirty and Annabeth would be expected home in about fifteen minutes.

"Great. Percy and I will pick you up at nine o'clock then." She left and it was only lying giddily in my bed replaying her words in my head that I heard 'Percy and I'. And after that I was so furious for not realizing it sooner that I lay awake for hours, and by the time I had to get ready for the breakfast, I was wishing I'd slept.

I decided to dress fancy this time, since maybe it really was a date and I'd misheard Percy, and after Annabeth's dress-up last night, I didn't want to underdress. Annabeth rang my doorbell around 8:57, and I opened the door to just Annabeth, wearing a sea-green skirt and a white shirt. Dressed semi-fancy, I guessed. Just Annabeth.

However, Percy was waiting on the sidewalk in front of my house, in dark jeans and a yellow shirt, and again, I was angry but I wasn't very surprised. They really were best friends, they did almost everything together. And I guess, if it makes Annabeth happy, I should support it.

"Hey, Mark." He waved. Annabeth smiled. "Where do you want to eat?"

We ended up going to one of those family-owned breakfast places, where Percy attempted to order blue pancakes with blue chocolate chips and blue syrup and blue whipped cream and blueberries but got blueberry pancakes instead of his original order.

"It's not so hard," he whined. "Just use food coloring, gods!" Annabeth laughed at him. "The rest of the world's population just isn't obsessed over blue food, Seaweed Brain."

"It's my mom's fault, okay? She planted the disease of blue food. Her and Gabe." His face darkened, and Annabeth frowned at him.

"Gabe is gone now, Percy. You're fine. Gabe's never going to come back…your mom ensured that part." The look she gave him confused me and made him laugh, it was almost…grim, murderous, truly. Annabeth's angelic perfect-student face should never make that look.

"You're right," he said grudgingly. "Look, it's already ten thirty." He changed the subject and I just got confused. I didn't know who Gabe was, for one thing, and that look on Annabeth's face…it was like a serial killer face.

"How are your classes going, Percy?" Now that Annabeth's three days showing him around were over, he'd have to find classes by himself, and go to them on time and everything. Made me wonder if that was going to happen for him- he'd already said he had ADHD.

I hated to admit it at the time, but by then I was already friends with Percy Jackson. I just was kind of in denial, sometimes being pretty chummy and then realizing moments later that I'd been friendly with him just then.

"Well, Marine Sciences is great, I really like the ocean. I hate math, language arts, and pretty much everything else. But gym and Greek are also pretty good."

"How do you know Greek so well?" he fidgeted a little.

"My dad's family speaks it, they passed it down to me." Annabeth smiled a little, a half-smirk on her face that suggested she knew more about this.

"Really?" I said carefully. "That's cool. Where'd they learn?" he squirmed more.

"Well…they're Greek?" he said it as a question, but I dropped it for once. The more I thought about it, he had the sort of look to be Greek- dark hair and a tan like the ones you could get in summertime L.A. A tan like Annabeth's. His sea-green eyes, which matched the skirt Annabeth was wearing, were probably the most eye-catching thing about him. _Get it? His _eyes_ were the most _eye-catching_ thing about him? Hehehe._

Annabeth swallowed the last bite of her lemon-and-blueberry crêpe before wiping her mouth with a napkin, glancing out the window.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain?" he looked at her. He'd ordered a bunch of pancakes, which he was still eating, but was alert enough to make eye contact.

"Huh?"

"I think there's a bit of a problem?" Percy glanced out the window as well, and, out of curiosity, I looked too. There was a gigantic big dog snarling out the window, but it looked pretty normal except for the fact that it apparently had it out for Percy and Annabeth.

"Hey, Mark, Annabeth and I are going to go take care of the dog. We'll be right back." He forced a smile, and that smile, which was apparently supposed to sell the idea to me, set off warning bells, like it wasn't right.

"I'll go with you." I stood to follow them, but Annabeth shook her head.

"It'll only be a minute. Bye, Mark!" she was out the door, along with Percy, faster than I could blink. They ran down the semi-crowded sidewalk, with the other people parting with confused expressions as the dog followed, except for a little girl who stared, slack-jawed in horror at the sight of the dog. She shrieked as it ran by, and her mother apologetically took her away from the scene. I was left with Percy's pancakes and my waffles, and a bunch of whipped cream, syrup, and fruit. Just great.

When Annabeth and Percy finally came back, Annabeth has a nasty-looking scratch underneath her left eye and Percy's two bruises and a cut on his right arm. "Dog wasn't very nice," Annabeth explained. "I think it's a stray. We brought it to the Humane Society." She locked eyes with Percy and it was clear my version of a 'Humane Society' and theirs was very different.

"Percy? Are you planning on finishing those?" While I was waiting, I'd finished my waffles. "Because if not, it's Saturday morning and I'm going to the park." Our school was pretty close to Golden Gate Park, so the group hung out often (the group being Laura, Amy, Joey, me, Annabeth, but I guess Percy now too), sometimes walking, or just sitting there.

"Hold up. I'll eat." Percy grumbled. "Jeez, can't a guy take a breather for a few minutes?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Percy, you and Annabeth were gone for an hour and left me here all alone." He had the decency to look sort of ashamed at himself for once.

"Alone? You had the waiters and waitresses." Annabeth slapped him. He yelped.

"Wise Girl, you hit my bruise. That hurts, from the dumb dog. It's not like I've bathed in the River Sticks!" she slapped him again.

"Shush, idiot!" he glared at her but gave her an apologetic look.

"Sorry." He turned to me. "You heard nothing." Unwilling to talk anymore, he turned back to his pancakes and wolfed them down, eating like a horse. "Do you know if Joey, Amy, and Laura are doing anything in two weeks on Friday night?" his casual question made Annabeth pause as well as me.

"I'm not, and I don't think Laura is, but I don't know about the other two."

"Joey and Amy aren't." Annabeth said. "Why, Seaweed Brain?" Percy gave Annabeth another 'sorry' look before continuing with his train of thought.

"Well, next Friday, I'm going back to New York City to visit Mom until Sunday night, when I'll be back…but I was thinking we could have a sleepover or something the next Friday. Sorry, Wise Girl. I'm also going to visit camp for a day, so I'll be sure to tell Katie, Miranda, Travis, Connor, Malcolm, Jake, Michael, Will, Chiron, Mr. D, Grover, Clarisse, Silena, Beckendorf, Kayla, Austin, and all the others hi for you." She gave him a slight nod before thinking for a moment.

"Yeah, sure. I don't think Dad or Anne will be home that week, they go for their 'getaways' every few weeks, and the house will be empty besides Bobby and Matthew."

"That's good. By the way, the last time I IMed Mom, she said she was going to IM us today, so that might happen anytime now." I decided 'IM' must be 'Instant Messaging', but I knew Percy and Annabeth didn't have phones.

"Instant Messaging? I thought you guys didn't have phones." I said out loud, and they looked at me like I was crazy, which maybe I was.

"No, we don't have phones," Annabeth said, "but," she looked at Percy with a 'play-along' look, "Sally uses the computer we have at home for IM's anyway."

"Why don't you guys have phones? They aren't going to turn you into phone zombies." Percy smirked sarcastically.

"Phone zombies: the one thing in the Greek universe I haven't fought." He muttered. Annabeth punched him this time. "Okay, I'll stop! But I don't have money to pay for a phone, and I don't want Anne or Frederick to try to get me one."

"I don't need a phone," Annabeth said emphatically. "The computer works just fine whenever Silena IM's me for a makeover session."

"You should take her up on that," Percy mused. She hit him.

"Ow!"


	6. No Line Between Sleepover and Screamfest

**Six chapters already! Please leave a review for this and look at my stories 'Percy and Annabeth's Wedding: and More' and 'Heroes of Artemis'.**

**I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, because I am not Rick Riordan. The only related things I own are all the books and the plot of **_**Mortal Friendships.**_

**Poor Mark. I do hope he is happy without Annabeth…hehehe.**

Annabeth was miserable without Percy, and it showed. For the week of school leading up to his departure for New York City, she became less and less cheerful and carefree, until the point that he left the airport to board the plane. We all went with her- she was kind of a mess and you couldn't say no- and after Percy's flight she just went home with her dad, watching one plane leave the tarmac, and not even sure if it was his. Apparently, Percy wouldn't be doing it often- which both made me sad and happy, the jealousy and the friendship blended- because he wasn't a fan of flights, something about his father.

The Saturday morning after Percy's flight home to New York City, Annabeth and I hung out, just the two of us, the way it used to be before Percy arrived, we went to the park and just sat on a stone wall over a small pond, legs dangling. Her eyes were kind of bloodshot, not from crying, and she had bags under her eyes. She had those often, I realized.

"Are you tired?" I asked finally after Annabeth yawned for the umpteenth time, giving me an apologetic look before nodding and starting to speak.

"Had another nightmare last night," she said.

"You have nightmares often?" she blushed and looked down at her feet.

"Yeah. I have them almost every night, six out of the seven days in a week usually. It's not…I don't really talk about it much." I took it as a go-ahead, though.

"About what? Is it like a sleeping disorder?" she laughed, a grim, sarcastic laugh.

"No. It's not a sleeping disorder, it's inherited, though. Kind of comes to everyone in my mom's family. The nightmares vary. Sometimes they're about my old friend Luke, sometimes they're about monsters, sometimes the spiders that drove me to run away from home, sometimes about Thalia, sometimes it's about Percy and everything with us." This was probably the first time Annabeth really opened up to me in the years I'd known her, and it was sort of scary and sort of thrilling and concerning about the nightmares.

"Your friends? I- I'm sorry- but- why are your friends' part of your nightmares? I get the monsters…" her face started to close down and I hustled on- "I don't mean to be insensitive. I'm sorry." She still talked to me, though.

"The monsters are all…well, I've fought them before, and when I have the nightmares, I never make it out. The scars I have from the monsters disappear and, in their place…"

"In their place, I die." She said simply, watching my face, and she didn't look surprised at my horrified expression. "I'm sorry to burden you with this," she said quietly. "I know it's not something like a one-time nightmare that was really scary, they happen almost all the time."

"No. It's fine, you're my friend." I refrained from saying 'best friend', unsure if Annabeth would appreciate the sentiment. "You can keep going."

"I met Thalia when I ran away from home. She and Luke took me in and we found Camp together, but Thalia was injured and fell into a coma upon getting there." She bit her lip for a moment, the pain entering her eyes. "Luke…it's a long story, but he and I grew up at camp together, even though he was twelve. I always had a bit of a crush on Luke, but then he betrayed me, and everyone there, and he left. I encountered him a year ago, a little while after I turned thirteen, and he tried to get me to join what he was doing…but I said no." she took a breath, not elaborating what Luke had done, but I had a clear idea that he was involved in some sort of sketchy drugs/alcohol thing but had no idea how he betrayed- how he _could_ have betrayed Annabeth Chase- those gray eyes could melt me anytime.

"Last winter, I met Luke again…he tried to get me to join him again, and he eventually forced me to come with him. Percy found us and stopped him from doing more, but this summer, I'll be going to camp again." Her gray eyes hardened. "This summer, Luke's going to come back and he's going to do more."

"Just report him. Or don't go to camp." She shook her head.

"It's not that easy. Almost no one outside of camp knows the name of Luke Castellan. I have to go to camp." She closed her eyes after a moment. I thought over what she'd said at the beginning- that the nightmares were a result of her heritage through her maternal side.

"Have you ever met your mother? How do you know the nightmares are inherited from her and aren't just a recurring problem?"

"They aren't recurring dreams," Annabeth insisted. "And I have met her. Twice. Once the year that Luke betrayed us, I met her, and the second time this winter, at the meeting where Thalia left."

"I thought you said she was in a coma."

"Last summer, she finally woke up." She smiled a little. "But this winter, she left to join something else. She pops around from time to time, but she was my best friend before the coma."

"I'm sorry." I didn't really know Annabeth's whole story, it was obvious I didn't know the whole truth, but Annabeth had told me it and that was a good sign for me. Annabeth just sighed.

"You shouldn't be. My family has issues, and even if I have those as well, I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Friday night rolled around, Percy had come home safely, and I hadn't hung out with Annabeth that way since Saturday morning. Laura, Amy, Joey and I came up to Annabeth's where they sat on the floor playing with army figurines and planes.

"Hi," Annabeth said tiredly. She looked dead-beat. "Come in. Percy ordered pizzas." The bell rang shortly after that, he'd ordered four pizzas, which we- and Bobby and Matthew- started to eat- pepperoni, one with extra olives for Annabeth, who had slowly been draining all week. The pizza was eaten, the soda- Coke or Orange Crush- was drank, (Percy's had blue food coloring in the Coke) and we decided to watch a movie. Bobby and Matthew were allowed to stay up late as well, and the eight of us decided on was 'Hercules', because Bobby and Matthew had wanted to see it, and though Annabeth and I had seen Hercules two weeks ago on the same night, at the theatre, Percy had rented the disc and it had been pretty good, though Percy and Annabeth got a kick out of it.

Annabeth laughed at Hercules's name. "It's supposed to be _Heracles!_ The _glory of Hera!_ Imagine that, Seaweed Brain! A demigod child of Zeus who isn't wildly disliked by the queen of Olympus!" Percy laughed as well.

"Thalia would've been so much safer, though Hera didn't pay her very much mind." This was confusing me, because Annabeth had a friend named Thalia, and Hercules was a god, not a demigod. I asked and Annabeth faced me again, serious once more, and there was the strange mist in her eyes when she spoke.

"Heracles started as a demigod, and obviously I mean the Muse Thalia, Muse of Comedy, one of the Nine Muses." I nodded, appeased, but Percy and Annabeth giggled and snickered and smirked through the whole _Hercules _movie while the rest of us sat in polite silence trying not to get worked up at them.

When it ended, I was almost grateful. I'd never been to any real sleepovers before, so I was wondering what was going to be happening next, and I wasn't ready to sleep.

"Bobby, Matthew, it's time for you guys to go to bed." They whined.

"But Annabeth…!"

"But nothing. I'm seven years older than you squirts, I can stay up later, you guys have to sleep so you can grow big and strong."

We ended up in a heated discussion about the Nine Muses, sparking off of Percy's comment of the whole children of Zeus thing. He had a lot of kids.

"The Nine Muses are Calliope, Cleo, Euterpe, Melpomene…" Annabeth began.

"Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, Urania, and Thalia." Percy finished for her, and she mock-glared at him before letting it go and settling down comfortably on her couch. Their eyes sparked at the muse Thalia's name, since it had been their friend's name too, apparently for the Muse.

"Thalia and I fought in Capture-the-Flag once," Percy muttered to her. "It totally sucked, because we were co-captains, and I went for the open flag and we lost and she blasted me into the water, and then I drenched her, and then the Oracle went to Zoë, and then everything stopped because we got the quest for Artemis. But then I didn't get chosen, so I had to follow them and find you." She smiled, in their own little world together.

"Just like last year's summer: sneaking out after Clarisse." Percy nodded thoughtfully.

"That's true. We shouldn't be delinquents as much as we are, or at least myself, Wise Girl! Think of the trouble we could get into."

"I think, Seaweed Brain, we've been in enough trouble for a lifetime." The mist clouded their eyes again.

"Luke's going to come back," Percy murmured quietly. We were just stuck there, watching, unable to break their trance. "I had a dream, you were right. He's not dead." Annabeth's eyes filled with tears suddenly.

"Luke is so stupid. Why, why did he have to get so bitter? It wasn't like his father had any choice but to stay away. None of our parents had any choice. Cabin 6 wasn't bitter. Cabin twelve wasn't bitter." Amy broke the silence the rest of us had.

"Oracle? Quest? Artemis? Delinquents? Who's Luke? Your parents? What are you two even talking about?" Annabeth dodged the question.

"It's getting late, I'll tell you some other time. Let's go to sleep." So we did, all camped on the couch and in sleeping bags on the floor and in chairs, we all drifted off to sleep around 11:00 P.M.

I woke when I heard the screaming- a girl's terrified, shrill screaming. Annabeth's screaming. Laura, Joey, Amy and I woke and stared at her, and Percy who stood over her, concerned. Annabeth was asleep, probably suffering from one of those nightmares. Percy held her and she slowly awoke and started to cry into his shoulder, muttering some things.

"What was it this time?" his voice was low. Annabeth shuddered.

"The spiders in the park. And the shield, and the stupid, stupid scarf. I hated being his pawn to get back stuff from their date."

"I know. We couldn't do anything, Wise Girl." They noticed our stares.

"Annabeth had a nightmare," Percy explained.

"A nightmare?" Annabeth nodded, blushing like she had when she'd told me last weekend.

"I have them almost every night. Different things. It's hereditary." Percy nodded.

"How are Bobby and Matthew asleep?" Amy wondered. Percy shook his head in wonder.

"Sleeps right through them, he's so used to them."

"Let's go back to sleep," Annabeth said, voice shaky. "Please." She said as an afterthought, going to the skylight in her house and looking at the stars.

It was 1:00 A.M.

When I woke up again, Percy was yelling, already awake next to Annabeth by the time I was fully awake, looking depressed.

"The bull. How I got his horn, and how he kidnapped Mom." He explained to her. "I get the nightmares, too." Percy told the rest of us. "A family thing."

"Really? Both of your families?" Laura's voice was disbelieving.

"We're kinda sorta…" Percy started thinking. "We're second cousins." My heart leaped. Percy and Annabeth couldn't date, it would be incest! I'd get Annabeth yet.

"Not really, though," Annabeth explained. "Percy's father and my mother aren't really family- they're more like aliens." I looked to see if they were joking, and they were both dead serious.

"Aliens? How are your parents supposed to be aliens? I thought you'd never met your parents." Joey told them.

"Twice." Percy and Annabeth said. "Directly, at least. At meetings. They aren't the most sociable of families. They all have a gazillion kids each and they don't have time for the newer ones."

"Oh." Was all we could say. Percy and Annabeth had only seen their mom/dad twice? They were second cousins but not really because their mom/dad were 'aliens'?

Farfetched, was all I could say.


	7. Don't Call Me Thals!

**Here I am again! I might have more writing time now that I'm quitting an MMA class my parents forced me to join, but then again, I might start volunteering at my local animal shelter, so if chapter publishing is erratic that's why.**

**Please review/PM me with questions, comments, or suggestions on what should happen, I'm open to criticisms because they make this story better.**

**I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and I never will, but maybe one day, I'll own my own book series…hehehe…**

We didn't really talk about the fiasco that was our sleepover night, since it was, well, a fiasco, and Percy and Annabeth were clearly uncomfortable with all our questions about the 'nightmares' they kept having, and the little they'd told us of their parents just added to our confusion. Annabeth had always been cagey about Greek, gym, camp, her missing mother, or other topics of hers we weren't a part of, but Percy too? It was really, really annoying sometimes, and I had to respect Annabeth's privacy but being a person's 'best friend' when they really had a different best friend and all these secret things, they'd kept from you, it really made you question how much a part of their life you really were. Or in my case, how much of their life you really weren't.

I tried not to bring it up too often, but there were always those instances that couldn't be explained, how a curly-haired guy with a Rasta cap limped up to Percy and pulled him and Annabeth out of the hall and into the janitor's closet and they started talking in hushed tones which slowly began rising until the guy, who appeared to be 'Grover' judging by Annabeth's choice of words toward him, convinced the teacher to take Percy and Annabeth out of school for the whole day, and we didn't see them again.

Or the time where in our Greek class, we had a substitute- Mr. Brunner- who Percy and Annabeth both knew, Annabeth treated her warmer than she treated Mr. Chase, who called Annabeth and Percy out of class every period of the day for what Annabeth said was 'scouting' but didn't elaborate what they were looking for.

The incidents happened maybe once every week, and as we headed from April into May, (it was May 13, a Friday, today) I wondered if they'd had their incident of the week yet. There wasn't an official one but they just always seemed to happen to the pair of strange high schoolers. We were almost done with our eighth year, too, and even if my Greek grade wasn't perfect like Percy's and Annabeth's, I was doing pretty well.

It was now lunchtime, and the Percy and Annabeth sat with us while we entertained our not-as-close friends Tara and Jayden, twins. While the two were our friends we just weren't as close and didn't hang out as much with them as we did the rest of our group, and Tara and Jayden had their own friends that weren't our friends, so it was mutual acceptance basically.

"Hey, Percy…" Tara twirled her hair around her finger flirtatiously. We were all fourteen, even Percy and Annabeth who had summer birthdays, I guess they'd been held back since Annabeth ran away and Percy had so many expulsions. "What are you going to be doing now, then?" I tried to repress disgust at Tara's obvious flirting and…ick…try to be asked out. None of us were dating

"Well, Tara, now, Annabeth and I…" his eyes fixed on a point above Tara's head, and she scowled at the words 'Annabeth and I', and inwardly, I scowled a little too- "are going to drop…now, Annabeth!" the urgency in his voice put my alert on and Annabeth ducked to the ground along with Percy, but Annabeth stood up equally fast, catching what looked like a stick that had been hurled through the air to pierce her forehead had she remained sitting. But it wasn't a stick- it was an arrow, a silver arrow, and instead of looking annoyed or irritated, both people's faces broke into grins, huge, searching grins as they scanned the area behind Tara's and my heads.

"Thalia? Pinecone Face?" Percy called cautiously. A black-haired girl appeared in the crowd, from what I could see of her, she was about sixteen years old, about a year and half older than the rest of us, with short spiky black hair. After the embrace ended, I could see electric blue eyes, and I heard Joey whistle behind me, and before I could move, Laura had slapped him.

"Thalia!" Percy gave her a hug next, but it was obvious the relief and overwhelming happiness in Annabeth's voice, and the hesitant hope that had been in Percy's.

"Uh, Percy?" Tara's voice still held a hint of its seductive tone, "aren't you going to introduce us?" Annabeth snapped out of her daze and turned to look at us.

"Thalia, these are our friends…Joey, Amy, Laura, Tara, Jayden, and Mark." The girl, Thalia, stared us down with the same death glare Percy and Annabeth could give you, and you could see the misty pain and loss in her eyes, but she didn't do anything.

"This is _them?"_ Thalia's voice held a bit of a disbelieving tone, but she just chuckled. "Annie, I'm surprised none of them are, well, more interesting to look at."

"Don't call me Annie!" Annabeth almost whined, sounding more like Percy in that moment than any other time I'd heard her voice. "And Thalia, you should know looks can be _very_ deceiving." The strange quality was back in her voice, that thing that appeared in her tone when she'd talked about her friends, nightmares, those things with Percy…I realized where I'd heard Thalia's name before.

"Hey, Annabeth, isn't this the girl from the coma?" Annabeth shot me a warning look but it was too late, and Thalia looked very irritated and shocked.

"_Coma?_ Where did you hear that?" she sounded genuinely confused. Annabeth nudged her.

"I told them, Thals. It's fine."

"Don't call me Thals!" Percy snickered, and Thalia rounded on him next. "And you, Kelp Head, don't make me get started on you and _your _mistakes." Percy backed down, but still muttered something back.

"Pinecone Face."

"I heard that, Perseus Jackson!" that was news. Perseus? That Greek guy?

"Perseus?"

"No," Percy said quickly. "That's just Thalia's nickname for me. Like Kelp Head and Pinecone Face." Thalia looked, once again, surprised.

"You haven't told them _anything?"_ she met Annabeth's eyes, which suddenly looked to be saying: 'Shut up. Please shut up.' "Sorry, Annie."

"Don't. Call. Me. Annie." Annabeth snarled at her and hissed, and Thalia, instead of looking scared, burst out laughing.

"Annabeth Chase, I taught you everything." Thalia's voice was solemn. "You can't scare me with the feral look _I_ invented. Now, you, you had the mortal hammer. That was classic." Annabeth cracked up, Percy had a hint of a smile as he obviously knew all about the 'feral look' and the 'mortal hammer', but the rest of us sat in our everlasting cluelessness, shooting glances at one another. Tara and Jayden left, the girl giving Percy one last sassy, 'you'll regret it one day' look before following her wiser brother.

"Who's the girl and the boy?" Thalia's voice held a sudden sharp interest in the twins, and Percy's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Tara and Jayden? You could be right," he said after a moment. "Wise Girl? What do you think?" Annabeth was silent, following Tara's retreating back, before speaking.

"Tara's like a Cabin 10, a sassier, 'popular girl' version of Silena." Percy nodded thoughtfully. "But I don't think Jayden really fits the bill with 10. He reminds me of a Cabin 6 kind of guy, like Malcolm, but he's more laid back than any of my cabinmates ever are."

"Including yourself," Percy teased.

"Fine. Including myself."

"Hey, are Tara and Jayden identical twins?" Percy asked me. I thought for a moment.

"No. I think they are fraternal." Percy cocked his head at Annabeth. "Heracles?" Annabeth understood and nodded.

"Might be an Eros thing, I think." She raised her voice. "Is their mother around?"

"No." Joey said. "Took off years ago, Jayden tells me." Annabeth looked at Thalia grimly.

"Thals, I'm going to miss you, but lunch is almost over and I bet your visitation from the hunt is limited, so I'm going to let you go." Thalia nodded and embraced Annabeth once more, and in moments, she was gone. Instantly Percy and Annabeth were bombarded with all of our endless questions and confusion.

"Who's Thalia?"

"She was in a coma?"

"What's wrong with Tara and Jayden?"

"How do you know her?"

"Was that an arrow?" Annabeth held up her arms, looking a little exasperated, signaling us to all stop talking.

"Thalia is my old best friend, she was in a coma for years, there's nothing _wrong_ with Tara and Jayden- by the way, what's their last name, does anyone know- I know Thalia because I found her when I ran away because she was a runaway too, and yes, that was an arrow Thalia shot at me."

"She _shot_ at you?"

"-serial killer-"

"Their last name is Buttinelli."

"Thalia has a strange sense of humor, and Percy and I are too well-trained not to sense the arrow flying right at my head. The arrow could never have hurt me. Thalia's not a serial killer, she's a Hunter. There's a difference. Thank you, Laura, for that whole Buttinelli thing."

"How could it not have hurt you? It was going to split your head open." Annabeth pulled out a plastic baggie with little squares inside. "Also, what's a 'Hunter'?"

"Thalia hunts animals for a living. She still doesn't technically have a home, but she can fight."

"Also, this is my miracle cure…I call it ambrosia." Annabeth exclaimed dramatically, and Percy's face turned red.

"Ambrosia?" he chuckled. "Like the god food, Annabeth?"

"Of course!" Annabeth declared. "It makes me feel so much better! I guarantee if I eat it right now, I could beat Percy in a fight, as long as neither of us gets water." A sly grin grew slowly on her face. "Want to see, Seaweed Brain?" Percy adamantly shook his head.

"You have five years on me. Never!" Annabeth laughed in his face gallantly.

"Is widdle Percy scared?" her mocking voice made Percy frown at her.

"You can't make me duel you! I'll need the ambrosia if we do! I mean, I know I survived this-" he touched the silver streak in his hair and Annabeth frowned- "but I don't think dueling you is the best idea unless I have water." Annabeth shook her head.

"This summer, Seaweed Brain, it is on." I shuddered at the look on Annabeth's face, slightly crazed. Percy seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Unless you, Cabin 3's savior, is too scared to uphold his honor."

"Wise Girl, this summer, we might have bigger things to worry about than just a silly little training fight." Her mouth tightened.

"Well, we aren't going to think about that right now, are we?" her voice was sly. "We need to go IM Mr. Brunner immediately." There were still ten minutes till lunch's end, and they stood and walked out. In an unspoken agreement, the four of us followed after a few moments.

Percy and Annabeth were in a courtyard, Annabeth talking to something, maybe a screen on a wall, their backs to us. "Yes, Mr. D, I agree, the last big thing was the Di Angelo siblings, and that wasn't the best. Yes, Mr. D, I know of the risks. Mr. D, my name isn't Annie Bell, it's Annabeth. Chiron! Finally. I mean no disrespect, Mr. D, I'm perfectly aware you could make me drop dead right where I stand. Yes, I know it's on your mind. Chiron, do you think we should bring the Buttinellis in? Tara Buttinelli gives me a Cabin 10 vibe, and Jayden could be one of the guys who doesn't give a damn about their mother. Mr. D, please, give me a chance. I know what happened when we brought in Nico and Bianca Di Angelo. We lost Bianca and we've probably lost Nico…but I can't let them be attacked. Jayden could be a 6, and I won't let another person get what happened to me and lose hope like I did. Thank you, Chiron, I won't let you guys down. Bye."

We were in the shadows, and they marched right past us, whispering.

"What in God's name was going on with Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase?"


	8. Summer Break With Them is Over

**I know someone said I was giving too much away but I plan to fix that. I decided there wasn't very much I could do anymore in the space of April-June that wouldn't make it boring, so now it's June and school's letting out. Mark, Amy, Laura, and Joey are going to have the greatest summer with Percy and Annabeth! Or are they?**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or Annabeth Chase. Mark, Amy, Laura, and Joey are mine, though.**

Finally. School was out, and it was summer- it had been for the past ten minutes, and we were busy celebrating.

The past few months had been a whirlwind rush of schoolwork preparing us for high school, where Annabeth and I (I was one of the smarter students) prepared for IB- (international baccalaureate, do they do that in San Francisco? They do it in my school) but now we could finally take a break while Amy planned out our whole summer. She was doing it right now, and we were all pretty amused as she babbled on and on about all the things we'd do and the sights we'd see.

"We'll go down to a beach and watch, uh, something, I guess, for Percy and Laura, the marine biology nerds," she began.

"Hey!" both complained. They fist bumped. "It's not nerdy."

"and we'll visit some museums and things like the Ripley's Believe it or Not, for Annabeth and Mark. Joey and I will drag you to some concerts and things like that, and every day, we can go somewhere new with all of us! It'll be fun, right, guys?" Amy's puppy-dog eyes really were cute. And irresistible, which I guess was the point of puppy-dog eyes. We all readily agreed, and everyone's eyes turned to Percy and Annabeth, who hadn't yet said anything and were muttering amongst themselves.

We still hadn't really figured them out. It was kind of hard to figure out what they'd told and whether it was the truth or a lie. And what they had told us rapidly disappeared in our memories. I knew Annabeth had run away, been a troubled kid, but what was in camp, anyways?

"I don't want to!" Percy whined at her. Annabeth nudged him gently with her elbow.

"I don't want to!" she said back to him. "You do it."

"You do it."

"I'm not going to do it."

"Well, _I'm_ not going to do it, Wise Girl. So unless you want to disappear like you put on your cap, or with that disappearing stunt Dr. Thorn pulled on us last winter when you got kidnapped, one of us has to do it, and you're the meaner one. You do it." Annabeth elbowed him, glancing at us, her face frightened and unsure. Annabeth had been kidnapped. Oh, right. I'd forgotten that part, but they'd never really told us. We chose not to say anything…yet.

"So, what are you trying to make the other tell us?" Amy put on a brave face but I knew she was worried inside. Inwardly I was a little anxious too…

"Well, guys…" Annabeth looked at Percy. "We'll do it together." He nodded. "We're leaving." The two said. I swear all of our jaws dropped. Amy was first to speak.

"You can't!" she wailed. "I already planned the whole summer! We're going to have so much fun!"

"You can still have that fun," Annabeth tried to appease her, "just we won't be in the big picture. Take lots of pictures?" there was a pleading note to her voice, she needed us to be okay with this, to let her go.

"Where are you even going anyways?" Laura asked levelheadedly.

"Camp." Annabeth's voice wavered a little, but she remained firm with the words. I tried not to stare at her in shock. Every stinking year, Annabeth went to camp for the whole summer and tried not to return, and this year, two of our little clan were leaving, her and Percy, the guy she'd brought in. "In about four hours, we're leaving for Long Island Sound." She pulled off her cardigan, revealing a T-shirt underneath. "Percy, if Beckendorf and Nico come to pick us up and you aren't wearing this they'll have your head." Percy cursed and nodded, pulling off his hoodie to reveal a T-shirt matching Annabeth's.

It was bright orange and had a winged horse on it and in Greek-style letters said: 'Camp Half-Blood' above the Pegasus, and 'Long Island Sound' below.

"Camp Half-Blood? What's that, a racist joke?" Laura asked scornfully. I should've mentioned that Laura is part cacausian, so she takes that kind of stuff pretty seriously. "Sounds pretty white supremacist if you ask me." Their faces crumpled like a folded paper bag, but I tried not to feel bad for them. They were leaving us.

"Actually, it's slang for half-Greek, half-American," Annabeth said easily. "all of us going to camp are Greek." Laura folded her arms across her chest and glared.

"So, four hours?" Amy broke the tension. "What are we going to do for the last four hours of our time for three months?" Percy shrugged uncomfortably, and we walked the rest of the way to Annabeth's and Percy's home in silence.

"Guys…just a heads up, I may not come back." Percy said.

It was as if a bomb had dropped. First, they were leaving, now he might not be coming back?

"What do you mean? Of course you are…" Annabeth was the protester, actually, staring at him in shock. She blushed a little. "I've just…gotten used to having you here."

"Well, you know how Mom's been seeing that guy, Mr. Blowfish or whatever? Well, they've gotten married, and Mom wants me to try his high school, and assuming I don't do anything at orientation I have a shot at Goode High." He shrugged. "I don't want to go to Goode particularly, but I can't disappoint Mom. And he already thinks pretty low of me since you know, I'm an expelled student many times over and I live thousands of miles away from my only known family." His eyes met Annabeth's apologetically. "I have to give his school a chance, but I'll probably, you know, get another incident expulsion in the first week, Wise Girl, so you don't have to worry!" the smile was sad though. "And it's not like _you_ never thought about leaving the rest of us." _Who is the rest of us?_ "You remember? You almost joined Thalia's group." The shock on Annabeth's face transformed into guilt, and she stared at him.

"You knew?"

"Never have I ever been in a car accident or had an incident on a bus or train." Annabeth and Percy each put a finger down, and Joey did too. We'd decided to play Never Have I Ever, but the four of us had quiet ulterior motives. This could be a way to get some truths out- especially because we were going to definitely want answers. The three of us stared at them. "Joey?"

"Remember, my dad and I got hit by a drunk guy three years ago?" Memory hit and I nodded. "What about you, Percy, Annabeth?"

"My mom and I got hit by a guy. Annabeth and I were on a bus together and there was a disagreement."

"Never have I ever not been expelled in a school year." Percy's didn't get any of us, and he looked disappointed. "Hmph. You didn't even go to school for years, Wise Girl. And it's your turn."

"Never have I ever, uh…never have I ever been a guy?" Annabeth's question became a smirk as Laura and Amy laughed as Percy, Joey and I sheepishly put our hands down.

"So you really are a guy!" Amy said, sending us all into a fresh fit of confused laughter. "Well, I wondered, you know, with all the weird things you did with Annabeth…" I realized she was talking to Percy, whose face had turned bright red as he glared at Annabeth.

"You didn't talk about the island, did you?" Annabeth tried to look free of guilt, but the innocent expression that was on her face was ruined by the gray eyes, and the look in them- a 'hehehe, I'll never tell' kind of look.

"Never!" her solemn promise was ruined by the mischievous laughing that she had tried to stop and failed at, and Percy lunged for her, but she jammed her elbow into his nose.

Percy's hand was immediately at his nose and he mumbled, "I'm going to go to the bathroom," and Annabeth, feeling guilty and concerned, went with him.

"Never have I ever been a girl!" Joey yelled after them.

"Well, if that's the way you want to play it," Amy mock-glared at him. She put a finger down, though, as did Laura, and I'm sure Annabeth would after she came back from helping Percy with the nose thing.

His nose didn't look too bad by the time he came back- in fact, it looked perfectly fine, and he avoided our questioning glances. "It was just some blood, nothing major."

"Blood seems pretty major to me," Laura said worriedly.

"Seriously, it's fine." Percy seemed really eager to brush Annabeth's whole violent incident off, so we let it drop. We had a few more hours with them and we were going to spend them happily.

"Never have I ever been kidnapped." Amy said, there was a slightly evil glint in her eye and Annabeth put a finger down so slowly it was like she was trying to hide the disappearing ring finger, and Amy's eyebrow arched in mock surprise. Jeez, the girl should've taken Theatre classes instead of Orchestral Arts. _I'm not kidding, that's literally what they call the school's orchestra elective._

"You've been kidnapped?" Laura exclaimed in fake surprise, and Annabeth looked like she was trying to disappear into Percy's ribcage and leave a misshapen lump.

"Yes. Once. It wasn't serious, just camp stuff. Moving on." Annabeth muttered mutinously and try as we might we couldn't pry anything more out of either her or Percy.

The four hours we'd had left disappeared all too quickly and Bobby and Matthew came home with the skinny Italian kid from a few months ago and some other…interesting…people. One was a drop-dead gorgeous girl with blue eyes and dark hair, the other a burly, muscled African-American.

"Silena! Beckendorf!" Percy and Annabeth rushed up to them, grinning widely. "Is it time to go?" they seemed delighted by the prospect and I swallowed a twinge of hurt that they couldn't be happy to just spend some time with us instead. I could tell the others felt the same way, even though we hid it from them it was painful to see those that called you their friends being so excited to leave you behind for the next three months.

"So these are the guys that swept you away from Camp and your ginormous family?" the guy asked, shaking his head in mock sadness. "Wow, Perce. Just wow."

"I'm being rude," Annabeth apologized, "Guys, this Silena, and that's Beckendorf. They came to pick us up from camp, and you've already met Nico."

"Now, now, Beckendorf, I have to share my goodness with the rest of the world. After what happened in this place in the winter it needs some purification." The five campers shared dark looks, Annabeth's the dimmest. Silena took her hand in a purely friendly way but I still tensed.

"Annie, it's okay to cry. But for now, we've got to be going so Nico can sleep tomorrow away," the girl teased.

"Wait, Annabeth, Percy?" I took a breath, knowing what I had to do would be hard and necessary. I needed to show them they meant something to me by being concerned for the two.

"I don't think you should go." Annabeth opened her mouth to protest, but I kept going, "we know you got kidnapped because of that place, and campers shouldn't be the only ones to know. Tell the police, tell someone, but don't keep it to yourselves. It's dangerous at camp, isn't it, if you got kidnapped?" Annabeth just shook her head, but Percy's eyes were amused, and he grinned.

"Sure, camp's dangerous." He said freely. Annabeth jumped in.

"My kidnapping wasn't serious. It was just a little miscommunication between old buddies. Camp's only dangerous for the wrong kind of people."

"Well, we can go-" Joey tried to say, but all five of the campers had said the word before he'd gotten one word out.

"No." Goodbyes were exchanged, and before I knew it, Percy and Annabeth were out the door, where they were dragged over to a patch of shadow before Laura closed the curtains, silently.

"Wow."

**I won't have a regular posting schedule on this because I kinda write whenever I want to, but this Friday you'll probably be seeing a chapter.**

**Review or PM with questions/comments/concerns**


	9. She KISSED Him?

**Today is Friday, or at least it will be when it comes out…so that's something good. I'm off, so I'm probably going to publish some other new chapters on my other two stories today as well, or maybe I'll just do this one and publish extra.**

**So since the last chapter left off with Percy and Annabeth leaving for Camp Half-Blood in June, I'm going to time skip a little, because the whole story is about Mark and his buddies getting to know Percy and Annabeth Chase without their demigod secrets and things and you can't really do that without Percy and Annabeth, since this summer is when 'The Battle of the Labyrinth' takes place in canon, and I'm going to keep that, so first it starts off with Annabeth's POV for a little bit during TBOTL and then skips again to September where Mark goes back to his narration.**

**This chapter contains a few vague sexual references.**

**If I was the owner of PJO I'd be ecstatic.**

**Thanks to for the support of the story, which is going to begin right now!**

**Annabeth's POV:**

She shouldn't have run away from him. She probably shouldn't have given him that good-bye kiss if she was being honest. But she could live with a little lying for now, because what was important now was that she'd listened to a guy called Seaweed Brain for a reason and now he was dead and she was about to set fire to his shroud, because she'd run away from the monsters and left him to face them by himself.

She _should_ have listened to Mark, and Laura, Joey, Amy. The mortals who called themselves friends. If Annabeth was being honest, they were sort of friends, but they didn't have the tiniest inkling of what she was going through right now. She hadn't called them, told them that Percy Jackson was most certainly dead. They'd go all mortal on her and be worried, tell her to talk to the police after she told them the PG, mortal version of what had happened in the Labyrinth.

Annabeth had hoped for a while that he wasn't dead, that he was coming back to them by the minute. But he hadn't come back after the big explosion at Mt. Saint Helens and the good-luck kiss hadn't worked, so it was foolish thing to do anyway. It didn't mean anything, the kiss. Nothing at all, now that Perseus Jackson was dead.

"He was the bravest person I ever knew." Her eyes, she knew without a doubt, were red and puffy from crying, her voice cracked partway through the words. "He's…" she caught a flicker of movement and tried to zero in on the object through misted eyes. A face, pale, with dark hair framing it, in the middle…sea green eyes. "…right there!" she dropped the torch and ran up to him, relief, anger, grief, shock, and happiness flooding through her but anger settled and she almost lost what she was doing until she realized the scene she was making and started to think.

"I got lost," Percy was saying. Lost where? How could you be so lost you were gone for two weeks with no notice, even from the gods? And then the myths hit her. The legend about the 'perfect' girl on the 'perfect' island where a hero went and always left, the island called Ogygia with Calypso the only person there…now. Anger resurfaced. Percy had been on an island with a beautiful girl for two weeks. The jerk had probably stayed with the nymph girl for a while until he realized he had fame and glory to think about. Annabeth's good-luck-and-good-bye kiss had meant nothing. The thickhead had probably been with Calypso in a _very_ intimate way for those two weeks before deciding he had enough lost time for a dramatic entrance back to camp.

_I kissed you._

**Mark's POV:**

The first day of ninth grade and we still hadn't heard anything from Percy or Annabeth. It was like the winter break last year when Annabeth came back late. Privately I knew each of us was worried, but none us said a word. Amy and I stood silently comparing schedules- two more periods in our high school than we'd had in the seven of middle school. Was Percy Jackson coming back for freshman year? Was Annabeth Chase?

My schedule:

_1: Math__** with Annabeth and Joey**_

_2: Orchestral Arts Elective __**with Amy**_

_3: Science__** with Joey**_

_4: Language Arts_

_5: Greek __**with Percy, Annabeth, and Laura**_

_A Lunch_

_6: Free Period_

_7: History & Social Studies_

_8: Study Hall __**with Percy and Annabeth**_

_9: Physical Education __**with Percy, Annabeth, Amy, Joey, Laura**_

Laura and Joey eventually compared their schedules with ours and I was decently pleased with the way things had turned out- Math, Phys Ed, and Science with Joey, Orchestra and Phys Ed with Amy, Greek and Phys Ed with Laura.

"Hey, Annabeth!" Laura waved to a blond head and a black one beside it. The two turned, relaxing as they saw our faces, but there was a tension between the two of them. Their hands brushed ever so slightly sometimes, and both would tense, hurt crawling over Annabeth's face and guilt on Percy's. The four of us asked a silent question, and it wasn't answered.

"Hey." The weariness in Percy's voice was clear, and in Annabeth's too. The hurt and loss lurking beneath their irises had multiplied and Percy kept glancing at a calendar, his eyes darting around.

"How was camp?" Joey said fake cheerily. Both winced.

"Okay." Percy muttered.

"Good." Annabeth murmured, leaning against Percy before jerking up and away. "Sorry." She said, but it was clear from Percy's face he had no idea why she was apologizing, and he started to reply.

"Annabeth, it's fine-" Annabeth was in no mood to hear it, and she started to walk toward the bathroom.

"No, Percy, it's not. Don't you have a _perfect _girlfriend back on the _perfect_ island?" the pain in her voice was clear and Percy's eyes widened in shock.

"Annabeth, you know that's not true-" Annabeth was already in the bathroom by the time he'd finished. "-I came back for you," he muttered after her, but it was clear the words weren't meant for anyone else to hear. What had happened to our pair in the summer?

"So, no Goode High?" Amy asked him. Percy shook his head.

"There was a bit of an incident in the bathroom," he said. "Me and my accomplice were in hot water." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth but it died. "At least, I was."

"Your accomplice? Annabeth?" he hastened to shake his head.

"It's a bit hard to believe right now that Annabeth was ever my accomplice in anything." He was silent. "And despite what she said, Cal wasn't perfect and she wasn't my girlfriend…and Rachel wasn't either. Annabeth will come around, I hope."

"Cal? Rachel?" the doubt in Amy's tone seemed to make Percy defensive. "Who are they? Why do you keep glancing around? Why did you go to an island, and why does Annabeth think you met a perfect girlfriend on a perfect island?" all good questions, I thought. Percy shifted a little uncomfortably.

"Annabeth's a little protective of her friends, I guess," he said at last. "This summer, I went to Goode High Orientation, and some cheerleaders were a little high on something, and the band room got blown up, and this girl, Rachel, who I met at the Hoover Dam last winter looking for Annabeth, was going to Goode too and we got blamed. She's still at Goode. But Annabeth was really jealous of her, we were going to go to the movies and she cancelled because of it." I felt gratitude toward Rachel, anger at myself, and pain that Annabeth had been within an inch of going on a date with Percy. "Then, part of a camp activity I did, traveling around, I made a bit of a mistake and the plane took me to this island in the Caribbean with this girl, Cal. Uh, Annabeth kind of knows her and I guess she's jealous of Cal too and, because I couldn't leave the island for two weeks, she thinks something happened between us." Percy's shoulders sagged. "I wish I could tell her she was wrong, without her mother's gifts and her fatal flaw getting in the way of a truth." It always felt like half-truths he told us.

"Her mother? Fatal flaw?"

"Nothing." It was a little too quick to be true, but we let it drop. Annabeth came out of the bathroom, Percy gave her her schedule, and they apologized, like a picture where most of the pieces were there, but not all of them.

Red eyes, sagging shoulders, hurt eyes and misty half-promises, half-truths and half-lies, apologies. Gray meeting sea green, blonde and black. Annabeth and Percy, Percy and Annabeth.

And then it was over. Math, with Annabeth and Joey, passed quickly and I realized that our teachers hadn't been kidding about the Advanced Placement Math course we were taking. It was _hard,_ and even Annabeth, sitting beside me, seemed to be struggling, but I quickly realized this was more because she was off in her own little world, red eyes and a few sniffles were all she was doing in class, and she was usually such a good student. The hurt about Percy must've run deep.

Orchestra was monotonous. There was a new teacher from last year and he should've been called Dr. Boring and not Dr. Browning. He droned about his expectations for us in this dead monotone _forever._ How strange to think once orchestra had been my favorite elective, and with Amy. I wasn't sure I'd be taking it another semester.

The classes sped past until Greek- with Percy, Annabeth, and Laura. Percy and Annabeth came in talking in hissing, tense voices, eyes narrowed and frowns on their faces.

"I don't understand why you didn't escape it all! You had a perfect girl and a perfect home and an escape from the prophecy! Why did you come back?"

"For you! If that's not enough for you, Annabeth, maybe I should've stayed. Was that what you wanted, Annabeth? Was that what you were hoping for when you kissed me and ran off?" Percy's eyes were blazing, the sea green pupils dark. My blood froze. A kiss? Annabeth had kissed him?

"You know that's not right-"

"No, Annabeth, I don't. You know I'm an idiot without brains, I'm not in your cabin for a reason, so enlighten me! Stop talking in riddles and odd questions and just tell me what you want! I came back for you. I left what you call a 'perfect girl and a perfect island' for you! If that isn't enough for you, then nothing will ever be. I'm here, in San Francisco, _California,_ on the other side of the U.S. for you. I left my mom and my new stepdad and my friends at Camp for you! Maybe I should go back to camp right now, and go upstage _Luke,_ your favorite guy, and his Princess Andromeda! And when I die doing that, maybe it will put something into perspective for you, Annabeth!" she stared at him, the hurt and guilt fading but still there.

"Look, Percy, I thought we were past Luke-"

"Look, Annabeth, I didn't think there was anything we needed to get past with Rachel and the 'perfect girl', but you're obviously hung up on it. It meant nothing with either of them."

"But I need to get past it, Percy, and it's a bit obvious you're still jealous of Luke."

"I saw your wish, your aspiration, Annabeth…with the Sirens. Sitting around a picnic blanket with your mother, your dad, and Luke and Thalia…without me. So if there's anything we need to get past, it's all the lies we tell ourselves and each other to make us and the other feel better about it all. Admit it. Your wish, your greatest aspiration, was for me to be gone and you to have everything back to the way it once was." Tears filled Annabeth's eyes and she raced out of Greek, just in time for our new teacher to walk in.

**On a side note, I know Malcolm probably isn't this old, but for the sake of my story, Malcolm is like five years older than Percy and Annabeth's fifteen and since he's a child of Athena, he went through online college really quick and earned a teaching degree.**

"Percy? What?" Annabeth rushed past the blond, gray-eyed man, maybe in his twenties. He stared at Percy for an answer, and the black-haired boy looked at his feet.

"Annabeth was hung up on my disappearance again." The teacher gave him a pat on the back.

"Perce, Annabeth can't live without you. It'll all boil over. Now then." He clapped his hands. _"I_ am Mr. Pace- your new Greek teacher. If you are Percy Jackson or Annabeth Chase, you may call me Malcolm. If that's settled…" Annabeth didn't return for all class period. Mr. Pace had a special bond with Percy, though, a weird one.

By lunchtime, Percy was holding Annabeth who was crying.

"Why can't you just understand that I need you?"

"I'm sorry. But you do act like that, you know. It's a two-person thing." They cried and made up. It just reminded me that Annabeth had kissed him, which meant she had feelings for him, which meant my feelings for her were ultimately going to be unsuccessful in the long run.

Free period I spent in the library. On a whim, I searched the web for the name 'Percy Jackson'.

_Percy Jackson is a twelve-year-old boy from New York who disappeared along with his mother, Sally Jackson, at the Montauk beach. Ms. Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano, says that the boy is a menace to the public eye._

_Mr. Jackson was recently spotted around the Denver Waterpark area by a waitress, where a man appeared to be threatening him, a blond girl with gray eyes about his age, and another young man with curly hair and a limp. Is Percy Jackson a cold-blooded killer of his own mother, or a victim of some mysterious cult?_

The small excerpt I read from an old news website maybe three years ago included pictures of the three, which included a curly-haired guy with acne and a limp, and two pictures you could easily recognize as younger versions of Percy and Annabeth. My head was reeling.

'Is Percy Jackson a cold-blooded killer of his own mother, or a victim of some mysterious cult?'


	10. Killers or Cults

**Another chapter to release…two for today. I will also be releasing a chapter at least on my story 'Percy and Annabeth's Wedding: and More!' so reading that would be appreciated…**

**If I owned the PJO canon, I would be named Rick Riordan. Which I'm not.**

Was he a killer? That was the first thing that entered my mind. Percy was my friend, but it was becoming apparent that most of his life was a mystery for me and my friends, except Annabeth- the girl who had been with him. 'A man appeared to be threatening him, a blond girl with gray eyes, and another young man with curly hair and a limp.' Quick searching of the Internet revealed nothing else about Percy Jackson's case, only that it had been resolved. Annabeth. She had been with him on something really crazy.

Percy had a stepdad, I knew, but his name was Paul Blofis, not Gabe Ugliano. What happened to Gabe? Percy had mentioned his mother a few times, and Annabeth too, but it could've just been a cover for whatever had happened to the two of them. He and Annabeth never told us of any of this. They didn't tell us much, that was for sure. For one thing, they were now fifteen and apparently, Annabeth had kissed Percy during the summer, and afterwards, apparently, Percy had found some other girls and Annabeth was jealous. When asked how the summer had gone for them, they'd been a bit invasive and Percy had just said he'd gone on vacation to an island for two weeks, and Annabeth would glare at him when he said it.

I sent emails to Laura's, Amy's, and Joey's personal accounts, the only things in them a link to the news site I'd found the article about missing Percy Jackson on. Then, with twenty minutes still left in my free period, I searched for the name 'Annabeth Chase'.

Annabeth's name popped up as a 'missing kid' thing in the news from eight years ago when we were seven and she ran away from home. The younger picture of her, grinning in that cute little kid way, was carefree, there was no weight in her eyes, almost as if she didn't know anything that she knew now.

My history and social studies class was okay. We had a teacher named Mrs. Lynch, and she wasn't mean or anything, she was just kind of boring, and we were learning about the Greeks' invasion of Alexandria, Egypt back in the ancient times. Annabeth had probably loved it. Percy might've been a little interested. But I couldn't be when I'd just found out my 'friend' Percy Jackson might've been a murderer. I could believe it- there were times when there was this murderous glint in his eyes when he looked at things or heard certain phrases that was scary and uncertain.

Study Hall, with Percy and Annabeth, wasn't very eventful. I just worked on homework and asked Percy a few questions about the summer.

"I'm so excited for my birthday," I said. "I'll be sixteen in a few weeks." Percy shrugged aimlessly and his gaze was on Annabeth. "Are you excited to turn sixteen, Percy?" I caught their attention that time. Both were shaking their heads vigorously.

"No. I don't really want to turn sixteen, actually." Percy said. "Too much baggage will be coming if I get to be sixteen."

"_If?"_ I asked skeptically. Percy closed down.

"A lot can happen to me in a year. I mean, I got a new dog in the summer because, well, her previous owner, my friend, was incapacitated and couldn't care for Mrs. O'Leary anymore." Annabeth's mouth twitched.

"I'm not excited for Percy to turn sixteen either." She said, grimacing. "It's going to be a hard week when that happens."

"What?"

"Let's just say that since I was seven or eight, I learned that sixteen is not a good age."

Physical Education was rough. We had a lady teacher, and her name was Ms. Dodds. Percy absolutely hated her and she reciprocated.

"Perseus Jackson…careful, honey. Wouldn't want to slip on the floor." She cackled. Percy stumbled and cursed in some other language.

"Careful, Ms. Dodds! You're supposed to be a Kindly One and you wouldn't want to ruin your image. Remember last time?" he was muttering to Annabeth under his breath, who looked shocked and stared at Ms. Dodds.

"Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, I need to speak with you for a moment." Laura and Amy watched Annabeth go, their faces closed down.

"What?"

"Well, Annabeth in the locker room…she's got these _bad_ scars. Not to be judgmental, she always had scars, but these are…worse. And new, fresh. Like she got mauled a bunch by something more than a rabid dog." Amy dropped her voice. "Just don't judge her for it or tell her we told you, she'll get mad. She was uncomfortable enough changing, because her arms and legs have scars too, that's why she wears long sleeves and jeans so often." I stared at her and back at Annabeth, the blond ponytail piled back from her face, the way she shifted and glanced at Percy, biting her lip. I could feel the crush dissolve a little from pain, because she'd kissed him and both of them knew it hadn't been a friendly kiss.

Percy and Annabeth came back not looking happy or sad, but a little shaken, talking fast in their little language. It used to hurt when they did that but losing your crush for three months tended to gnaw the feelings away from their branch until it wasn't really there anymore. I still liked her- she was Annabeth, with the blond curls and the gray eyes that were really pretty. But the crush was dying and I wasn't sad, I realized, more relieved. I didn't want to pine after Annabeth when she'd already found someone that she liked how probably liked her back, someone she'd kissed, whether or not it was on lips or cheek, whether it was impulsive or something she'd put a lot of thought into.

"Why did she want to talk to you?" Percy shrugged easily, but he threw a glance over his shoulder at Ms. Dodds.

"We have a long history, and Ms. Dodds was just…giving me a warning about the coming year."

"Annabeth too?"

"No…she wanted to tell Annabeth to tell her mother hello," Percy stammered, "because, uh, they know each other?" he looked at Annabeth for support.

"Your mother knows Ms. Dodds?" Amy asked, raising an eyebrow. "That lady is, like, introverted to a fault."

"Well, it's just a small acquaintance, they hardly ever see each other, I hardly ever see either of them…" Annabeth elbowed Percy in the gut and he doubled over in mock-pain.

"Wise Girl! You've killed me…I'm dying…" he gasped like a fish out of water, and Annabeth's eyes were sparkling with amusement. "Call 911…just not Annabeth…" he added as an afterthought, and Annabeth's eyes narrowed for a moment before widening again.

"You can quit the act now, Percy," I said, my voice a little bristlier than I meant it to be. "No one needs to call 911 for you." It came out harsher than I intended and Percy winced, raising an eyebrow at me.

"What's got you in a twist? You aren't always uptight." _Uptight? Uptight?_ To be honest, I wasn't sure why I was in a mood, but it felt good to say what I wanted, out loud and clear, but the guilty feelings followed it, who was I to hurt my friends this way?

"Well, I guess I'm just glad you and Annabeth told us so much about camp and how you met…say, Perce, does this sound familiar…a missing twelve year old boy and his mother, known to be going to the beach at Montauk?" he blanched. _Annabeth_ blanched.

"How do you know about that?" they looked freaked out, my other friends looking at the three of us in confusion.

"So, Mark, care to share _what in god's name are you talking about?"_ Laura started yelling at me, and I could feel my world falling apart.

"It's not fair to Percy or Annabeth that you have a crush on Annabeth, it's not fair to be in such a bristly mood, don't take it out on them if they like each other! Don't make things worse, it's really obvious that you're jealous." She started yelling at Percy and Annabeth now, and even though it was in a low, angry hiss of a voice, I could feel the stares. "You guys need to grow up, and, you know what? We're supposed to be your friends. That's what you say anyways, and then you flounce off to camp and never let us know anything about it or any of your other _stupid_ secrets and then you come back and tell us obvious lies about why Annabeth's so uncomfortable with you and things like that! I don't want to say it but I don't feel like your friend, Percy, Annabeth, I feel like an outsider whenever you talk about things nobody else in the _world_ seems to know!"

Percy cleared his throat, looking scared. "Well, actually, camp knows…" Annabeth elbowed him again, and now _she_ was yelling at _him._ I could feel Joey and Amy staring and I was staring a little too as Laura cooled off.

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! We have things they can't know and you're making them feel worse! Leave it be! We aren't even really honest with each other! You shouldn't have come back you might leave any second with Beckendorf to go and have your own little adventures without me like you did with that Atlas girl. Have you forgotten the winter? I don't know why I kissed you, I shouldn't have, I wish I didn't!"

"Did it _ever_ cross your mind that maybe I didn't do anything with Calypso? Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I wanted to have something with you? With a mother like yours, Annabeth, I guess I shouldn't have expected you to have some sort of knowledge about relationships and other peoples' feelings, your mother swore them off! But people still have feelings, maybe you can learn about those, because sooner or later I am going to go off and have adventures without you, count on it! Maybe I'll go back to New York and to friends who aren't in a mood like you, friends like Rachel? Remember Rachel? Did it cross your mind that maybe we want to stay just friends? I can't and won't do it anymore, Annabeth. Trying to work it out with you is a waste of my time. Sometimes I wish you didn't kiss me, either!" Annabeth took a step back, eyes wide. Percy had crossed the line on that one and he knew it too.

"Percy…" there were tears in her eyes and mist in his, but neither of them was willing to fully back down.

"Annabeth, I'm not going to do it anymore, because it's just one step forward and three steps back."

"It's two steps back." Annabeth said, unable to help herself, and Percy just glared.

"See what I mean? I meant three steps back because it's quite obvious it's just getting worse."

"Percy…" the whisper softened him but not enough to break him.

"I _am_ sorry, Annabeth."

**I'm almost sorry for this…don't worry, they have to make up sometime before TLO. :) I'm evil. I'm leaving on a cliffhanger...it's better than the Mark of Athena's.**


	11. Inconsiderate

**Hello!**

**I guess you all probably hate me because I made everyone have a big fight. I'm the puppet master hahaha!**

**That wasn't funny.**

**But puppet masters aside, I'm sure they'll be friends again, right? ...I'm a horrible person. Don't be mad at me.**

**ALSO: There's this one person whose name I'm not going to mention but recently he posted a review that says 'she isn't gonna get with Mark right? That better not happen or I'm going to kill you'.**

**Please don't say things like that. The same person has said the same thing before which you can also seen in the earlier comments that if Annabeth and Mark get together 'I'm going to kill you' and it's not okay to say things like that even if it's exaggeration. This story is rated K and I'd like the comments to stay the same way and I've reported this, and if they keep saying things like that, I'm going to stop writing the story because it isn't worth it.**

**If I owned PJO that would be great, and Percy and Annabeth would be together forever…**

**Amy's POV:**

What just happened? I think we were all answering that question, except maybe Percy and Annabeth, who were probably asking, 'what have we done?' and rightfully so. Seriously though, they couldn't not be friends. They were Percy and Annabeth and you couldn't imagine one without the other anymore. Just the thought of it was wrong. So as we followed Annabeth, who, after realizing following Percy was sort of pointless, darted into the bathroom, I couldn't stop turning over the arguments. How could they fight so much after she'd kissed him, too?

The high school's bathrooms were actually pretty nice. Annabeth was sitting just inside one on the floor, crying still. I mean, I would be crying if I'd just broken up with my half-boyfriend, or whatever Percy was to her.

"Annabeth?" Laura said cautiously. "You alright?" she shrugged her shoulders. "That's a no. You're still crying." Annabeth sniffled and tried to wipe tears and snot away from her face with her sleeve.

"It's just unfair." I remembered Mark saying the same thing, poor guy had probably been slapped in the face when he learned Annabeth had kissed Percy. But right now this was about Annabeth.

"Do you like him?" I asked slowly. Annabeth lifted a shoulder and set it down halfheartedly, her heart was obviously not really into it.

"I guess. Sure. Whatever." She said into her knee.

"Why are you two acting like this?"

"Well, he had the guts to do nothing after I kissed him and ran away, he didn't even say anything. And then he got taken to that _stupid_ island with that _stupid_ girl Calypso and they probably did some sort of romantic stuff there, and he didn't even say anything about it or what happened, and then right after he introduced me to that pretty little redhead _Rachel_ and Rachel obviously liked him and he didn't even notice and he had the guts to say Rachel wasn't so bad, and he didn't even get why I didn't like her. And now he's mad at me because he was _so dense_ that he couldn't realize when _somebody_ had feelings for him and was stupid enough that he was all 'sometimes I wish you didn't kiss me either' and other things like that. I guess I should listen to my mother." Annabeth looked up. Her eyes were all puffy. "And now he's going to go back to New York!" she started crying again. I sat down next to her and patted her back.

"I don't think Percy's going back to New York, Annie. He likes you too, I'm sure."

"Please don't call me Annie."

**Mark's POV:**

Joey and I wasted no time in scrambling after Percy, since Laura and Amy had Annabeth covered. We could hear somebody crying in the girls' bathroom, but I was a little afraid it was Annabeth, and let's face it- Annabeth's tears were scary sometimes. Percy, luckily, wasn't in the boys' bathroom, but he was outside in a courtyard punching the wall in the rain, and his knuckles were bleeding. I got woozy at the first sight of the bright red blood dripping from his fist.

"Percy!" Joey's voice was super worried. His eyes were red and he turned toward us, the bloodshot quality of his eyes making him look uncontrolled and kind of scary. "What are you doing, man? You're going to get an infection." **BTW, I have no idea what high school boys say so don't judge me if Joey sounds really weird.**

"No I'm not." He muttered. "Leave me alone. Go comfort Annabeth, suck up to her." He turned to me. "Isn't that what you wanted?" Joey whistled. Both of us glared at him and he backed down, shaking his head at me like a professor telling his star student he'd gotten the answer wrong for the first time ever.

"Well, you gotta admit Perce's got a point there, Mark. You had a crush on Annabeth for forever."

"I just…it's stupid. It's not like I'm able to say it in a different…" you could see the lightbulb going off in Percy's head at the moment. "That's it!" he looked up to the sky and clasped his hands together as if he were praying. "Thank you!" he took a plastic baggie out of his pocket and ate a square of something inside, letting the rain wash the blood from his knuckles, revealing…nothing. Zilch. Zero. Not a trace of a wound remained on his hand. Joey and I gaped. He brushed it off like it was nothing, frowning at us. "It's a small wound, barely noticeable." He raised his eyebrows at us like we were idiots. "What?"

"No really?" Joey said sarcastically. "Dude, there isn't a wound at all! You were bleeding seconds ago from the wounds that are no longer there! Seriously, what is _up_ with that?" Percy shrugged uncomfortably, looking like he wanted to disappear. "Nobody can heal that fast, man, and you aren't superhuman, after all." Percy looked like he wanted to laugh for a moment but his face fell.

"Annabeth would've laughed." He mumbled. "Funny joke. Anyway, I just heal faster than average and I hadn't been punching the concrete wall for long." The words were lighthearted and Joey and I stared at him. It had been a _concrete wall_ for god's sake! How could he not have hurt himself? It was _concrete._

"So what were you saying about Annabeth?" I asked and Percy grinned confidently.

"Well there's this series of words Annabeth takes really serious, it's like her own Unbreakable Vow. If I say them and then convince her that I'm taking it seriously she might be inclined to forgive me." He said it so brightly that I winced, because Annabeth wasn't a forgive-and-forget kind of person. The opposite.

"Uh, Perce," Joey voiced what I was thinking, "you do know that you're the one who refused to listen to reason and threatened to go back to Manhattan, _right?"_ Percy deflated, shoulders sagging.

"Oh. You're probably right. How do I make it up to her?" his eyes were full of guilt and I flinched…

"I dunno, dude. If you say you're sorry or whatever, she'll still be mad at you even if you're trying to make it right. I think the only way to get it right is for _her_ to apologize to _you. _Which means…"

"I might never make up with Annabeth," Percy groaned. "She's stubborn as a mule." And I agreed.

**Laura's POV:**

"How do I make it up to him? He's obviously not going to try because he left…" Annabeth was still sort of a mess, her eyes still red but at least she wasn't crying her eyes out. "Do you think he really left to go to New York?" the few girls that had walked into the bathroom near the gym had promptly left when they saw a blubbering freshman being comforted by other freshmen, and the last bell had rang signaling the end of the school day.

"Shh, Annabeth, I don't think Percy went to New York." _Maybe he did. I wouldn't blame him, considering what Annabeth's been putting him through. But I can't tell her that. I wouldn't be surprised if Percy Jackson caught the latest plane to Manhattan and put an end to it all._

"B-b-but I…" I took a deep breath; stubbornly headstrong Annabeth wasn't going to agree to my notion easily. _It's your only choice._

"You have to apologize to Percy." Amy voiced my thoughts, and we winced, judging Annabeth's reaction, which didn't go as expected. "Annabeth?" she had been silent for a long time and I guessed that she was trying to think of what to say or do, because Annabeth is arrogant sometimes and apologizing to Percy was never going to come easily.

"Okay." Her voice was soft, my shoulders sagged in relief, thinking she'd be easy. "But only with a good enough reason." I flinched at the words. Nobody was good at debating like Annabeth was. She'd win.

"Because you hurt Percy and even if he said some bad things, it was you who made started this argument because you were jealous of Rachel and Calypso, and to top it off, you kissed him." Amy stated firmly. "So now, you're going to go out and do what's right because you and Percy are, like, a power couple and you can't just…fight and never talk again. We're friends with both of you and we're not getting caught in the tension of the century." Amy had a way with words, but there was no way she'd be able to argue with Annabeth, and there was tension between us now, too.

"I thought the tension of the century was when Ross and Rachel broke up." **(F·R·I·E·N·D·S, anyone?)** I joked, trying to break the tension, but Annabeth doesn't watch television and Amy's parents think she's all innocent…even though she's taken Health classes since sixth grade, but they aren't very connected to her.

"Firstly, what? Secondly, can't you see we're kinda having a moment here?" Amy asked, completely oblivious.

"You know, you really should watch Friends. Some _thirteen-year-olds_ watch it." Enjoying the horrified emotion splayed across her face, I smirked. "Aren't you almost sixteen?" Amy glared at me, incensed now.

"Fine! My parents are just overprotective of me, and that's nice because it's really the only thing in my life they control. Ever since Mom's nightmare disorder started getting worse, she's had to go to the hospital for the nightmares, and Dad stays with her. He's faithful, I can give him that. But Lunchables aren't supposed to be dinner…they're called 'Lunchables'." Amy ranted.

"Your mother has a 'nightmare disorder'?" Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow. Unbeknownst to her, while she and Percy had been gone having the time of their lives in their favorite place on Earth, there had actually been _problems_ in the real world.

"Well, when you were off gallivanting around in the 'best place ever', other people had their own lives happening too. _Your___life was all sunshine and rainbows, and my mother was getting sick and going to the hospital every week."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Annabeth was levelheaded about it all but this just made Amy huffy, so I dropped the subject and went back to Annabeth's Percy problems.

"Well, you need to apologize to Percy." Annabeth's face should've been on the front cover of a magazine, so dramatic and _NOOOOOOOOO!_ Like her life was about to end, because apparently she was having 'problems'. It was kind of stupid, but we were friends and even if she was super weird about certain things and had never had a boy issue before this in her life, I was going to help her. I just hoped Percy was getting the same sort of treatment from Joey and Mark…or at least Joey. Mark was probably trying to get him to make things worse in a hope of winning Annabeth's affections like in some cute romantic movie where the night in shining armor saves the fair maiden.

"Okay." I was surprised that she was taking it all so well. "So now, you're going to go out there and apologize to Percy."

"Right now?"

"Now."

**I know it was kind of a boring chapter but it's sort of a filler, because I don't want them to just fight and make up that would be boring and unrealistic, because seriously, you don't have a big fight and make up right afterwards.**

**Please review and tell me what you think!**


	12. Shelli, AND Kelli, AND Tammi? What?

**Happy Thursday! In my Social Studies class my teacher does 'Granola Bar Thursday' **

**It's the next day now and Annabeth still hasn't apologized to Percy. It's just Mark's POV for now, I think. If any of you have suggestions for the next parts in the story you can PM my account or review the story and I might incorporate it into the story but for now, here's chapter 12.**

**Mark's POV:**

After giving Percy some advice about his whole Annabeth problem, I quietly plotted out my own, slightly nefarious, plan. I'm a terrible friend because of this but I still care about Annabeth some, and even though I don't have as much of a crush on her as I used to it's still there and even if it was only for a little while I'd like to live that fantasy I'd had for a while…so during the time that Percy and Annabeth _weren't _'Percy and Annabeth', I was going to move in there and try for…something.

Percy's situation was that he just had to wait for Annabeth to not be angry anymore, and if that ever happened it would probably be a while before it did, so I had some time before I'd have to make a move. However, knowing that Annabeth was half-in-love with Percy and would probably try as soon as she felt up to it, albeit not very well, I found herself pushing open the door of the Chase household with Laura, Amy, and Joey, after hearing her doing…something… from outside. The door was already half-open.

"What's your name, again?" Annabeth was panting from upstairs, there was some scuffling going around. Who was she talking to?

"I'm _Shelli._ You _killed_ my sisters Kelli and Tammi!" the four of us inching inside stopped as one, and the growly girl's voice went on. "You'll pay for what you did to them. We were so close to getting that boy Percy Jackson at his Goode High orientation, but at least we got him expelled. You got him the ride from the Gray Sisters. And _you_ stabbed Kelli in the back in the inventor's workshop, you helped the sea spawn save the camp full of your kind. We can't make the Percy one pay until his sixteenth birthday, but we _can_ make you. You have no part in our plans. The Percy child must choose us, and what better way than by using you to lure him?" it was a sinister girl's voice, and slowly, the four of us inched inside slowly and put the door back as we'd left it. Annabeth seemed to be in trouble. A clatter made Amy jump as something shattered on the upstairs floor.

"Well, Shelli, I don't really care about what you're going to do. Percy's saved me before and he'll save me again. I couldn't care less about Tammi, who met her end by Percy as the monster deserved. She also wrecked Percy's chances of a good high school. Kelli, she tried to kill Percy and she tried to kill the rest of us, the she-demon deserves hell. I'll admit, I did play a part in Percy's adventures and I'm still going to. You can't take me anywhere, and even if you manage to Percy will find me." She sounded so confident, but the thuds were louder and I heard a low hiss, Annabeth, from pain.

"I know you two have been fighting recently," the girl purred. "We'll get our revenge for Master Luke."

"Do all of you serve Luke? It doesn't concern you. Why are you getting revenge on me? I've done _nothing_ to Luke, he was my brother, he saved me when I ran out on the street. He promised me that we'd always be family and while he kidnapped me and almost killed me, I've never hurt a hair on Luke Castellan's head." Annabeth sounded close to tears. "Even. When. He. Gave. Me. This." She seemed to be showing 'Shelli' something.

"Interesting, the gray streak in your hair. Funny, you've never hurt a hair on Master Luke's head and he gave you gray hair. Premature, don't you think?" the simpering voice continued.

"Annabeth Chase, it's not always that easy. Luke wishes you would join him, your mother has done _nothing_ for you, why do you support her?"

"Shelli, it's not always that easy." Annabeth mimicked the other girl. The crashes and pained hisses continued. "Maybe you can't do the right thing but I can. …will stay on top as long as the Earth is real. Thalia refused you, and Luke, … refused you multiple times, you didn't get Nico and Bianca died…there are no more children of …." Some of Annabeth's words drowned in the noise from upstairs, but she kept talking. "You've lost, Shelli. To me, and to …god…"

_To God? Annabeth always told us she was atheist. _

There was one last hiss in pain, and as one, we hurried outside as the house grew still and quiet, sitting outside as we waited for Annabeth to collect herself. Percy came around the corner of the house and saw us, frowned and went inside. I heard his exclamation of 'Wise Girl?!' as he went upstairs and saw what had happened with Annabeth and Shelli, who didn't speak any longer.

"Shelli said Percy and Annabeth killed people." I said quietly. "And I found this newspaper thing about Percy." I pulled out my phone and showed them the news thing that had started the fight. "What do you think?" we were all quiet for a long time before Joey spoke.

"I think I don't know what to think." I nodded with that statement.

"Annabeth's been my best friend for so long, I can't believe she could kill someone. But Annabeth openly admitted to the Shelli girl that she'd killed Kelli and that Tammi had died and 'gone to hell' and 'deserved it'. Do you think Shelli's…?" my question hung in tense silence, suspended as we thought of the final hiss and the silence in the Chase house after the painfully final sound the girl had made.

"Maybe this time, it was in self-defense," Amy said softly. "Shelli said she was going to make Annabeth pay for helping Percy and killing her sisters. She said she was going to take Annabeth. And Annabeth and Percy were fighting, he wouldn't come to her aid. Do you think…?"

"I think Shelli might've stalked them a little. But I don't even know what to think. They're our friends. We should go inside." We stood up slowly. It was still quiet in the house, but I could hear talking drifting out the open door. Maybe we're creepers and stalkers but we pressed our ears to the wall.

"…what was it?" Percy's voice was concerned but held no trace of anger toward Annabeth that she'd trashed the house with the Shelli person. "It looks like one of Mrs. O'Leary's kind was in here." Annabeth's broken laugh filtered through the wall, it sounded like a stressed and tense chuckle, but a laugh all the same, but they still hadn't made up, it was still tense inside.

"No…it wasn't Mrs. O'Leary's breed, it was…Kelli? I stabbed her in…workshop. Yeah. I'm…sorry." There was nothing between _I'm_ and _sorry,_ but Annabeth had paused in her words all the same, she burst into tears and I guessed our two friends were in the living room. "It was my fault and I'm sorry." I tensed a little. I could guess at the scene inside: Percy's arms were around her and she was crying into his shoulder, they were happy and friends again, and I'd missed my chance of getting Annabeth once again. Perfect.

Annabeth was sniffling and Percy was silent, but this was what he had wanted all along, so it was just peachy for him. He had all he'd wanted and he had a beautiful girl on his shoulder.

Annabeth I'm sure was happy too. She had Percy back and she'd managed to kill Shelli. Percy was saying something…

"No, Annabeth…I guess you had a right to be jealous, even if it was unjustified. I'm not that unfaithful to you. We aren't even dating and you're saying I'm cheating on you." Annabeth sniffled a little and said something back.

"Well, for all I'd known you were cheating on me with those…" her words died away.

"Annabeth?"

"Percy?" her voice was soft, innocent and unassuming and I felt a pang of desire.

"I swear on the river sticks that I didn't do anything with Rachel or Calypso." There was a silence. "See, Wise Girl? I didn't do anything and Lady Sticks didn't strike me down." Annabeth giggled a little like a schoolgirl, swept off her feet by the dashing young man.

"I guess you didn't. But I really do think we should talk about this…whole thing." I could practically hear Annabeth smiling, she had Percy, her life was perfect, sunshine and rainbows for Annabeth Chase.

"Yeah." Percy's agreement was quiet, in a low voice.

They talked for a while quietly, but both avoided the topic of dating each other, which was kind of stupid because they were fifteen and they definitely liked each other and yet neither one wanted to broach the topic and break the fragile friendship that had almost turned to dust that afternoon.

"She said she was Shelli. She wanted revenge for your killing Tammi and my stabbing Kelli in the back. Stupid she-monsters." Annabeth really was the perfect girl- bright, smart, beautiful, she didn't even use swear words…in public or in private. And she'd resolved her friendship with Percy. Just perfect…for her.

I remembered the times when we'd hang out every weekend, just the two of us without Amy or Joey or Laura. Those were the times I started believing we were really best friends with each other, and that Annabeth liked me back. After Percy came, we stopped having weekends together, and Annabeth stopped paying as much attention to me, she had someone else to share jokes with and laugh with and enjoy Greek and P.E. with. She wasn't holding back her golden self anymore and Percy didn't either and even if they had secrets, they didn't care about what it was doing, they were carefree. And it hurt me but they didn't care. I admired that about Percy and Annabeth. They didn't really have a care in the world, and the world didn't really care too much about them.

**Yeah, right. Percy and Annabeth **_**totally**_** aren't facing a war next summer. They **_**definitely **_**aren't tangled in the world of Greek gods and goddesses and could die at any moment. But Mark doesn't know that.**

**So now Percy and Annabeth have made up, because I couldn't keep them apart for too long it would've been cruel. They still don't get to date yet because I'm trying to stick with canon storyline and now, they're mostly good, they'll still probably fight but most of the tension because of Percy's unexpected trip to Ogygia has gone after Percy swore on the River Styx. It wasn't the river sticks like Mark heard with his innocent mortal mind.**


	13. Mr Castellan and the Glowstick Incident

**So, guess what? Everyone in my state in the U.S. is off until April 1****st****, I get two more weeks of Spring Break because of the coronavirus.**

**If there's anything specific you think should happen in this fic please PM me with ideas and I'll look at it and might incorporate it into the story. By the way this is set between **_**The Battle of the Labyrinth**_** and **_**The Last Olympian**_** for now and it is still around mid/late September in their freshman year, they are fourteen-fifteen.**

**If I owned PJO I would write a lot better than I actually do, people would actually know my name and wouldn't call me **_**the other version **_** and this wouldn't be just a fanfic.**

**Mark's POV:**

About a week had passed since the big blowup incident with Percy and Annabeth in gym class and their mysterious make-up. It had been kind of fun to mess with them, after she'd finished crying, we'd gone inside and I'd 'casually' mentioned my old friend Shelli- even though I didn't have an old friend Shelli, it had been enough to put both Percy and Annabeth on edge, but I couldn't laugh or I'd ruin it. They'd had their usual friendly parts-of-their-past fights but nothing serious like the one in P.E. on the first day of school. Our high school was pretty cool actually, though it was harder to find classes because it was so big. Annabeth, as always, was pulling straight-A's a week into the semester and already the teachers' favorite if they played favorites. We didn't have a strict teacher in Greek anymore, Mr. Pace had explained to us that they hadn't employed him permanently and as a result every few days we had a new teacher, who seemed to have perfectly corresponded with the old teacher's lessons. Most of them were very young, which was questionable, like Ms. La Rue, who really didn't like Percy and called him 'Prissy', and Annabeth she called 'Princess'.

**By the way, Ms. La Rue is actually Clarisse, I decided it would be fun and they use the Mist to disguise their ineligibility to teach classes to high school students.**

Today we had another new teacher following the departure of two young men named Mr. Stoll and Mr. Stoll. They'd been very fun teachers and had participated in fun class activities relating to Greek mythology in some way and Annabeth and Percy had definitely known them. They'd stayed for three days as our teachers but when we walked in today, there wasn't Mr. Stoll or Mr. Stoll. He was a man with blond hair and blue eyes and a scar on the side of his face, and when we walked in with Percy and Annabeth his eyes brightened at the sight of her. Annabeth's and Percy's face went through a display- shock, confusion, anger, guilt, regret, pain, a lot of pain in Annabeth's, and determination.

"Luke!" Annabeth got right in his face. **Luke visits Annabeth at one time during the school year before The Last Olympian so this is when, he decides to come play a trick as well being the son of Hermes.** "What are you doing?!" there was an angry hiss to her voice as she spoke and Luke raised an eyebrow coolly.

"Hello, class, my name is Mr. Castellan. I'll be your teacher for today-" Annabeth was suddenly holding a glowstick, glowing in the half-light of the classroom. "Ms. Chase, please put that down. Ms. Chase? Annabeth-" she lunged for him, Percy following suit. Inside the room came another girl, beautiful with brown hair and green eyes.

"Luke!" the girl yelled at him, diving for him with a pair of scissors, Percy was holding a pen with the tip out.

Luke, or Mr. Castellan, snarled and ran. The girl straightened out her clothes and stood at the front and erased _Mr. Castellan_ and replaced it with _Ms. Gardner._

"Class, I'm the real teacher today, my name is Ms. Gardner, but I have to follow Ms. Chase and Mr. Jackson." She was already out the door, leaving her name and the image of her and Mr. Castellan burned into my mind. What was going on? Within seconds, the class was in the hallway watching Luke and Annabeth circle each other with glowstick and…a ruler?

Annabeth cried out as Luke's ruler slapped her sharply across the cheek leaving blood, and Luke's triumph showed on his face. "Annie, you know you can't hurt me. I mean too much to you." However, Percy's pen seemed to poke him or something and eventually, I wasn't comprehending and Mr. Castellan, Luke, was gone and Ms. Gardner was ushering us back into the class.

"Katie!" Annabeth embraced her and Percy gave her a half-hug, the girl blinked and smiled at them good-naturedly. "It's good to see you. Travis and Connor should be back at camp by now.

"I'm sorry about Luke," she apologized, "I followed him in but lost him when I was getting the substitute notes Travis and Connor left in the _men's bathroom._ The anger in her voice faded quickly and she sent them back to me and Laura.

"So, what was that about?" Laura asked them. "With the weird guy with the scar and, why were you trying to hit him with a glowstick and a pen?" Percy's and Annabeth's faces went blank for moment before they seemed to realize something and recovered from the moment of confusion.

"Luke is hard to explain," Annabeth told us, "he's always messing with me and Percy." A brief look of worry came onto her face but she smiled, "I wonder what he wants this time," she told Percy. "He literally just saw us when he tried to destroy Camp."

_Destroy Camp? I'm never going to understand what Percy and Annabeth mean, and even if I want to, I can't keep digging around I'll go mad._

"So you know Ms. Gardner too then?" Annabeth nodded enthusiastically.

"Katie's a friend from camp." She was on a first-name basis with our Greek teacher. She was on a first-name basis with all the others, too, though, so that wasn't such a surprise. It was just a little odd. There'd been Ms. La Rue, who Annabeth hadn't really liked very much but had called 'Clarisse', and then Mr. and Mr. Stoll, 'Travis and Connor', and then Mr. Castellan who had been Luke.

"You're on a first-name basis with our teacher?" Laura said skeptically. "Seriously, is she able to teach us?" at this Annabeth stilled, muttered something to Percy, and then answered the question in a way so obviously fake a baby could've seen through it.

"Could be one of us." A raised eyebrow from Percy. "Well, it's a little obvious she's fighting Chiron's thing." A nod. "I don't know how it could be possible unless she's one of us or one of, you know, Luke's crowd of nasties." Another pensive nod, a shaking head. "I don't like it either but it could be the truth." Percy shushing her because we were right there listening, without a clue about what Annabeth was talking about. And about Laura. Laura! She couldn't hurt a fly.

Ms. Gardner, Annabeth's 'Katie', gave us a lesson about the Ancient Greek monsters- which Percy and Annabeth aced. When Ms. Gardner talked about Echidna, the mother of all monsters, Percy winced and said:

"She and her Chihuahua slash Chimera were a really _nasty_ piece of work, shooing me off of the Arch. I could've died for all they knew."

"That was their point, Seaweed Brain." When Ms. Gardner talked about Typhon, the husband of Echidna and the father of her children, Annabeth said, "We're pretty sure you released him when you exploded Mount St. Helens, Percy. With any luck, he won't have awakened but we never have any luck."

"Yeah…I guess it's too late to write the Empire State Building an apology card for all I've done?" needless to say, it left my mind spinning because there was no way I'd heard correctly about Mount St. Helens, and why the Empire State Building? I wasn't going to get answers, this I knew, but it didn't mean I wasn't going to fish for as much information as I could, because I was nosy that way.

"Yeah, Percy, I don't think you'd be able to address it to the 600th floor." They laughed like it was a big inside joke.

Lunch passed quickly, I could tell Laura was a little confused about why they'd been talking about her in such an odd suspicious way but she said nothing, because Percy and Annabeth had never been the type to tell us the truth and we were constantly like people in a reality TV show where it's full of plot and lies and it is too hard to discern what is actually real.

My free period I spent every day catching up on homework if I had any but more often scoring the web for anything on Percy Jackson or Annabeth Chase. Today, my work was more focused on Mount St. Helens and the Empire State Building- more specifically, the Empire State Building's 600th floor that I was pretty sure didn't exist. I didn't find anything about a 600th floor on the Empire State Building, it had only 102.

Mount St. Helens, they weren't sure about the cause. But it definitely wasn't Percy Jackson who exploded it, I scolded myself for even entertaining the notion I'd find something there. A whole period of free time wasted on two false leads from two false people. They aren't really false, but to me, they act it sometimes.

The next day, Annabeth came in sort of pensive and avoiding Percy, who looked very confused. **Luke has visited Annabeth like he did in the books and asked her to run away with him again, but Annabeth has turned him down and she feels guilty and sad which is why she is avoiding him.**

"Annabeth?"

"W-what?" she jumped. She was twitchier today than she usually was. Percy on the other hand was totally fine. He watched her, sometimes, would put a hand on her shoulder when she was deep into work and watching her flinch in a confused sort of sadness. Like he wasn't quite sure what she was and what she was doing. And Annabeth acted like she didn't know who and what she was either. Like in the space of twelve hours since I'd left her house and seen her again in the morning at school, she'd been given a life changing decision.

One that she'd ruined.

**Hooray, chapter…which is it? Thirteen?**

**Today, I was going to play a duet with my best friend in a band competition, but surprise surprise, coronavirus shut it down! And now, no more school until April 1****st**** so I will definitely be posting a bunch on this story so look for that. Today is also the one-month mark since I first wrote the first chapter, so that's nice.**


	14. So Their Parents are Here?

**Hello! So because the governor cut off all school in the state until April 1****st****, I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands (even though a lot of this will be spent crying with my cousin who has a lot of new things happening, and also doing stuff with her because family) so I will probably post more often than I do now. Then again, I may not. So look for that, put this on Story Alert or something.**

**If there's anything you think I should include in Mortal Friendships then please review the story or PM me and I will look over it and if it's good I'll include it…I'm kind of fishing for things here to pass through Percy and Annabeth's freshman year, because there's only so many things I can think of to be a weird demigod thing that the poor mortals don't know about.**

**If I owned Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the books would be SO MUCH WORSE. Be thankful that I do not, because it would be sad. I'll settle for this.**

"Hello, class, I'm Mr. Yew. Today, we're starting a unit on the Olympians. Every day for the next three weeks you're going to have a new teacher bringing their own godly expertise." He smiled like it was a joke but Annabeth snickered softly and Percy smirked, raising his hand casually, which he only did in Greek or Marine Sciences.

"Sir, can I ask a question? Who will be doing the unit on Poseidon? Or Athena?" Mr. Yew just raised an eyebrow at him. Did he wink? He definitely winked…right?

"Well, Percy, I don't know what Camp has lined up for those, but I can tell you that today, we are learning about Apollo." Percy sighed dramatically. Camp? What was that about a camp?

"Camp, sir?" a girl named Natalie raised her hand. Natalie was kind of timid and shy, but she was scary smart, a little like Annabeth without as much good looks. Nothing against Natalie, but in my mind, Annabeth was and would always be better.

"The school considered taking the core class of Greek down this year," Mr. Yew explained. "That would be a shame, many schools don't offer Greek and its mythology, and it can benefit so many people who just don't know it yet." He winked at Percy. Annabeth poked Percy. Percy's face turned red. "But your friends Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson are part of a year-round camp where we focus a lot on Greek mythology, and when our manager, Mr. D, heard of this, he arranged to put Greek back in." there were some grumbles from kids who obviously didn't like this too much but Annabeth's eyes were shining. I noticed that Tara and Jayden didn't speak at all, just watched with rapt attention. Remember Jayden and his twin sister Tara, who tried to hit on Percy in eighth grade? Yes, those twins. I remember when Percy and Annabeth practically dragged them away during the school year.

They came back in one piece, the same old Tara and Jayden, so I couldn't really complain about it to them. They wouldn't tell me anyways. And so now, as Mr. Yew, who Percy and Annabeth and Tara and Jayden address as 'Michael', starts telling the myth of Apollo and Daphne, I know I've lost two more friends to Camp and the next one won't be me. Because if either Percy or Annabeth, or both of them, had to choose their favorite person on the Earth besides each other, it wouldn't be me. It's never me anyways. I've learned that by now.

Though, now, Joey and I have grown a lot closer than we used to be, since now Annabeth is no longer my best friend and I guess I'd have to say it's Joey.

"And so, that wraps it up for Apollo. Don't forget that we're having a test on the fifteen gods and goddesses that we cover in this Olympian unit." That shocked me. I'd been so busy daydreaming I hadn't heard about the test. I nudged Laura.

"When's the test?" she shot me a surprised look.

"You didn't hear? It's on the Monday after the end of our three weeks of a different teacher. I swear, Percy and Annabeth have the weirdest 'Camp' ever." She seemed amused about it though. If I didn't have to take Greek I wouldn't be.

"Yeah." I agreed weakly. I'd just noticed some very interesting people standing outside the class where Mr. Yew was shooing us all out. Percy and Annabeth, behind us, tensed, very slightly but still noticeably. There was only lunch for us next, but Percy and Annabeth made a beeline for the two people- a woman with black hair and gray eyes like Annabeth's, and a black haired man in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts, with green eyes. Sea green. They stood off to the side as Percy and Annabeth moved toward them, dragging us behind them by the wrists. How did they have such a strong grip with their fingers?

"Percy." The woman said. "Annabeth." They cast a glance at us and waited for the crowd to leave before…bowing? They _bowed?_ "There is no need for that. We can all be civil equals here." Annabeth shrugged and stood up with Percy, and they noticed us. "Who are these…humans?" the slight pause made me think this lady was probably a little crazy in the head. We were all human here. It wasn't like we were some weird type of alien that Percy and Annabeth just happened to befriend, but they still looked at us in distaste. Percy and Annabeth recovered from their shock and introduced us.

"Mom, this is Mark." She gestured to me. "And Laura." _MOM?_ The same woman that had abandoned Mr. Chase and left Annabeth as a baby, who Annabeth only met a few times, _that_ mom? Percy cleared his throat awkwardly, and I deduced that this guy was probably related to Percy in some way and could be his dad or something like that, or family of Annabeth's.

"Yeah, what Annabeth said." Annabeth's mother shot him a dirty look.

"Perseus Jackson." She said coldly. "I see that you have not done what I asked you to do when we met upon the Winter Solstice. Listen closely. Stay away from Annabeth." Her voice was like ice, and her eyes were Annabeth's stormy gray.

"Mom!" Annabeth protested. Her mother gave her another ice cold stare. "Percy is my friend." She said slowly. "He's not going to hurt me like Luke did." A smile, no teeth showing, and very forced. A tight smile, you could say, more like a grimace.

"No. His fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Annabeth. It is not about you. It is about what he would _do_ for you. What he _has_ done for you." Annabeth's gaze hardened like obsidian, dark and flinty, and she could have put a laser through her mother.

"He should've let me die?" I met Laura's gaze and started edging away. This didn't seem like the best relationship, but I could hear the raised voices. As we ducked into a different hall, I heard Annabeth speak again. "So when I got kidnapped by the manticore, Percy should've let Luke kill me with the sky? So when he told me to go before blowing up Mount St. Helens, he should've just let me die? Is that what you're saying, Mom? If you're so intent on letting me die, then maybe you shouldn't have given Dad the gift of myself at all. Maybe you shouldn't have done any of this." Annabeth was angry again, and she stopped talking for a moment. "Percy is my best friend. Most parents are supportive, by the way." She added sarcastically

"Percy, a word?" the man spoke this time, and I heard Annabeth's mom mutter something, maybe to him or Annabeth.

"Dad?" So he was Percy's parent. Interesting. The parents obviously knew each other, I knew Percy and Annabeth were distant relatives, but were still able to date and things like that- they weren't yet though, we were only fifteen/fourteen.

"Athena, leave me and my son to have a bit of a talk. Maybe you can go talk to Annabeth." There was quiet. "Percy, I don't care about your relationship with Annabeth. In fact, I'd encourage it. But I want to talk to you about Luke. His ship, the Princess Andromeda, is making its way to you. By July, they'll have docked, and you and Charles Beckendorf will have to go. You'll be on call by that break in December, for…Christians…Christmas Break. You'll have to be in New York by then."

"Also, be careful of your mortal friendships. They'll break if they don't think you're telling the truth." _What?_

"I'm not telling the truth, Dad. I can't." Percy sounded regretful but like it was a necessary thing. Were they talking about me, Amy, Joey, and Laura? Why would they be calling us _mortals?_

"Then be prepared." Percy and Annabeth came into lunch a little while later, Annabeth's eyes rimmed with red. Percy had one arm around her shoulders. Laura and I had fled into the lunchroom after hearing everything, and I had a new theory: mental illness. Maybe it ran in the family. Maybe _I_ had been having a very long dream. I pinched myself. Laura, Amy, Joey, Percy, and Annabeth were all still here in the high school lunchroom, in the fourth week of school. The last week of our first month of high school. And according to Percy's father, he'd have to move back to move back to New York City to be 'on call' by Christmas Break. I had barely known Percy for six months but he was one of my closest friends now.

"So, they were your parents?" Laura asked Annabeth, who nodded slowly.

"Yeah, my mom and Percy's dad. They live in New York City…I don't really know why they decided to show up all of a sudden." Annabeth sounded depressed. "It's not like they act like good parents." Percy stared at her, concerned.

"I know, I know," she said for him. "I'm starting to sound like…" her voice broke then. "When do you have to go?"

"December. Christmas Break, when we go down to Camp, I have to stay. Dad said it would probably be more in July, leading up to my birthday in August, but that since Luke could appear at any time, with the Princess Andromeda, I'd have to stay and wait starting in December. Sorry, Beth." A smile tugged at her lips, and she stared down at her lap.

"Percy, there's something I should…" the crash in the cafeteria was louder than what she was saying, and both of them jumped, Percy's hand straying to his pocket. Annabeth pulled out her orange/yellow glowstick.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain. We'll see who wins."

"You're on, Owl Head."


	15. TWISTY TWISTY

**Here I am again! The fifteenth chapter. Today's Friday, I don't know if I'm going to post it today or tomorrow because that's my dad's birthday…but I will post it. Thanks to JoeBob for the support of this story, it means a lot.**

**If there is anything you think should be included in this story then please put in a review or PM me because I'm going to run out of ideas soon. Then I'd have to postpone this and that would suck. Disclaimer: if I owned PJO, I wouldn't be on Spring Break, I'd be writing the last TOA. **

**This chapter is special. Because of JoeBob, who suggested something for the story, I'm adding something to this chapter that I wasn't planning on doing originally but I am going to do now, so thank you for that. And yes, I am expecting your guest review every new chapter now.**

**Mark's POV:**

Percy and Annabeth raced towards the other end of the cafeteria, Percy's favorite pen in hand and Annabeth's bronze glowstick. They were weird. There was a scream, and I saw Mr. Yew run into the cafeteria with a solemn look on his face as he snapped his fingers at us. He ran, quickly, drawing from a mini backpack across his shoulder a pencil, which he shot with a gigantic…slingshot? **Note: this is because of the Mist.** Most of us were too in shock to comprehend the full situation. I got up and followed, not sure of what I was doing or why I was doing it. Tara was talking to Jayden, got up with a ruler, and ran right after the substitute. What was with this? I heard someone scream, and, getting to the other side of the lunchroom, saw Annabeth fall onto the ground with bright red blood, shining almost golden in the warm light, flowing freely from a long scratch in her leg.

I almost called out her name, but knowing Annabeth, she'd be angry that I'd followed them. They were my friends. I should be allowed to worry for them and follow them, but with Annabeth I was being a creep, probably. Annabeth gritted her teeth, pinching the glowstick between her thumb and forefinger, eyes squinted. She threw it, right as Jayden ran past after Tara. Her mouth opened wide for a moment in a silent scream. One moment, it was on Jayden's left side. The next, it was heading for something on his right that I hadn't yet seen. Annabeth looked so relieved and in pain, she almost collapsed. Percy rushed to her side like the chivalrous knight rescuing the fair princess.

"Annabeth!" Mr. Yew called out to her. I looked at the rest of the lunchroom, had they seen what I saw?

Everyone was frozen in place, except for me.

"Are you alright, Annabeth?" his voice was so gentle, I almost collapsed in shock. They were obviously very familiar with each other with the way he was taking care of her. The cut in her leg leaked blood. And the thing that had caused it…

There was a woman, there, she seemed to glide on the ground and hissed like a cat. Triumph showed on her face as she brought down a silvery _knife_ on Percy's shoulder, he cried out and fell like Annabeth had. Part of the knife was…bronze, maybe? It was hard to see, like it was folded in a fog.

"Persssseussss Jacksssson. I have waited a long time for thisssss. You ssshall pay for what you did to Massster Luke." She was going to slide her knife across his throat but Mr. Yew shot a pencil into her chest, she collapsed and disappeared quite suddenly.

**What Ben is describing is a dracaena but Mark's mortal eyes cannot see it, he sees the knife because it is mortal silver which harms mortal and demigods. But why did Mark go through Chiron's Mist field that froze every other **mortal?

I moved away before they saw me, but my head was spinning. I walked right out of the lunchroom and into the library for my free period, but I just sat in the chair the whole period. What had just happened in the cafeteria, moments before?

Ugh…why did Greek mythology have to be so hard to comprehend? It was the Monday after our last day of the unit on the Olympians and three other gods- Hades, Hestia, and Persephone. I was confused because of Persephone, a minor goddess, but I'd comprehended the other two when I was actually paying attention and not suffering through the test. My grades were going way down after whoever graded the tests. We had a guy named Mr. Brunner today. He had to use a wheelchair.

_6\. Persephone is close family to which gods? _

_A: Hades and Demeter_

_B: Hades, Demeter, and Zeus_

_C: Zeus and Demeter_

_D: Hades and Zeus_

Who was it? Hades was her husband and Zeus and Demeter her parents. Was she close to Hades? He was her uncle and her husband, and she'd had a child with him, I think, Melinoe? Goddess of ghosts? She was definitely close to Demeter, her mother, could cross out D. After some deliberation, I chose C. **Oh, poor Mark, I'm sure Percy and Annabeth will get them right…**

There were fifteen questions, one for each of the gods and goddesses we'd covered, a month and a half into school- Halloween was next week. I was dressing up as the Grim Reaper. Joey was a ghost (very original, I know), and Amy was supposed to be a Greek goddess or something like that. Laura, I didn't know about her, nor Percy and Annabeth's costumes. I was pretty sure they were doing some kind of 'duo' costume thing or something like that.

_15\. Hades got the Underworld as his domain by?_

_A: Rock, paper, scissors_

_B: Zeus became king and said so_

_C: Drawing straws_

I circled C, I was pretty sure it was right, and closed my test book and glanced at the clock. Five more minutes. A very faint snicker went around the room and I sighed, Percy and Annabeth again. For the past fifteen minutes, maybe six or seven minutes after the test had started, the two of them had been snickering at the test and/or themselves. I was sure they'd gotten every single thing perfectly, as it was them. The two who were perfect in P.E. or Greek Mythology, who were so secretive it was like they weren't even real.

_BRRING! BRRING!_ Finally. Lunch. Annabeth, no longer needing to be quiet as the class was over, started laughing super hard and Percy cracked up too, ignoring Mr. Brunner's kind but annoyed smile and the tired class. She actually went right up to the teacher and talked to him easily, giving him a big hug from his wheelchair at the end before departing for the lunchroom with Percy, who, while not hugging Mr. Brunner, was obviously very familiar with him as well, Annabeth treated him more warmly than she treated Mr. Chase, her own father. It was like she'd lost one father and gained another one in terms of who she considered her true family.

"What are you guys doing for Halloween?" Joey asked. "I'm gonna be a ghost!"

"Goddess." Amy.

"Grim Reaper." Myself.

"Flower child." That one was Laura. We all turned to Percy and Annabeth, not speaking. A smile crept onto Annabeth's face, discreet and mysterious.

"You'll see. We haven't quite gotten our costumes yet I need to meet with my great-great-aunt." Percy was about to say something, his face scrunched up in concentration. "I know, I know, she's just your great-aunt." He nodded. "But anyways, where are we meeting up again? The Bridge?" Every year that Annabeth has been with us we've all gone out together on Halloween night and walked the Golden Gate Bridge to the houses on the other side and back around. This would be Percy's first year.

"Hey, this is Percy's first time, isn't it?" Annabeth nodded at me. "What's Halloween like in New York now? It's been year since I visited." Percy smiled fondly.

"It's fun there," he said wistfully. "I miss it, except Mom would've probably put me in a boarding school, and I wouldn't know anyone there." That struck me.

"You wouldn't know anyone there? But you made friends with us so quickly." Something dawned on Laura's face, she shook her head and said nothing, quietly. I gave her a glance, she a soft look. It struck me, I was fourteen now and, somehow, she looked different. She had dark blond hair and blue eyes, looked a lot like Annabeth but somehow, with her pale San Francisco skin that made her so different from Annabeth she was still pretty and all her own. I shook my head. This was _Laura._ One of my best friends. Dating her would be like the Annabeth dream but worse, because Annabeth was far away from me and Laura way too close. If something went wrong, I could never be near her again. I looked away, but this put me right next to Amy.

Amy wasn't like Laura for me, she had her dark auburn curls and the hazel eyes with freckles, a classic sort of face, but it was still pretty and Amy, I just didn't see her like…I saw Laura again. It was the same. Annabeth however, so like her and just not the same, was just…Annabeth…she was pretty but not attractive anymore.

What was wrong with me? I wasn't seeing Annabeth as _Annabeth,_ the girl I'd always seen when I looked at a tanned face with gray eyes and blond hair. Suddenly Laura, who had always just been Laura, nothing special, had transformed overnight. I'd seen her on…Friday, was it? She'd been the same Laura then, but now that I thought about it, Annabeth had been losing her special luster to me for a long time now. She hadn't been the same for a while, slowly the attraction I'd felt had melted away as she got closer and closer to Percy.

Halloween night, all six of us met up at one end of the Golden Gate Bridge. I was the third one there, Joey, and Amy, already there, smiling shyly at each other. She'd only just gotten there, I heard them speaking.

"Joey? You look…nice." Joey in his ghost costume was better than ever, less childish this time, the ghost had Joey's face.

"You look incredible." She did. She was wearing a white 'chiton', I think. It was kind of hard to tell what it was, it wasn't quite properly wrapped. A crown adorned her head, sitting atop her chestnut curls, and the outfit had a gold belt at the waist. Did they get closer to each other? Amy was smiling in the lamplight. She looked up at it, carefully holding her crown and making sure the curls didn't fall.

"The lamp's pretty nice. Kind of romantic." My eyes could have bugged out then. _WHAT?_ She smiled at him. "Now all it needs for perfection…" I looked away, but not in time to not see…

"Mark?" Laura. Thank God. "What are you…_oh."_ I turned to see Joey and Amy kissing under the light, not knowing they weren't alone. "I see." I looked at her- pretty much the same costume as Amy's, as she was a flower child and Amy a goddess, but it was different. "Should we, uh- go over?" I snuck a glance and wanted to burn my eyes. It was a sweet kiss, but it was still a _kiss._

"We should stop," Amy whispered. "Mark, Laura, Percy, and Annabeth, will be here soon." They waited uncomfortably, sneaking glances like they weren't aware they were watching each other. "We'll have time after trick-or-treating, right?" I almost gagged, it was kind of cheesy. Laura and I, after waiting a few moments, stepped out, one after another.

"Hey, guys." Percy, and Annabeth. Oh my god.

They looked inhuman. Perfect.

**HAHAHAHAHA! First, Mark sees Percy and Annabeth and gets through the Mist barrier that no mortal can pass through, but he can't see through the Mist…**

**And then on Halloween night, Mark and Laura arrive just in time to see Joey and Amy **_**kiss.**_

**Please review. JoeBob, I'm expecting it. Next chapter will probably be the last one before Percy leaves in December to await the Princess Andromeda's return to New York City, and it will be Halloween night.**


	16. Annabeth Blows Up

**So…it's Halloween night in the story. Mark and Laura just saw Joey and Amy kiss at the Golden Gate Bridge a few minutes before trick-or-treating, supposedly alone. Mark's starting to feel something for Laura, and he was immune to Michael Yew's Mist freeze of all the mortals, but he can't see through it…hmm…odd, isn't it?**

**This is the last chapter before Percy leaves for New York City to await the arrival of the Princess Andromeda. I think after this I might do a chapter or two without Percy, like the way it was before his entrance in, but I'm not sure yet, if you have a preference please tell me somehow, so that's that.**

**Thank you JoeBob for all the reviews, and yes, I did use your idea about following them in the cafeteria.**

**The8horcrux, TTC takes is in winter, so they don't have a bead because it hasn't been a summer yet.**

**If I owned PJO, my name would be Rick Riordan, and it isn't, which is good because he's much better than I am.**

They were matching. Annabeth in a white chiton and a gold braided belt around her small waist and an olive branch in her hand and a golden headband/crown on her head. Percy in a white toga with a golden trident and a belt around his waist and another gold crown on his head. They looked a little like two Greek demigods, to tell you the truth. Two demigods, living back in Ancient Greece who'd come to visit us through two mortal humans named Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. I stared. Laura, and Amy, and Joey stared.

"Wow." Amy said. "You guys just _had_ to top me, didn't you?" there was a sparkling laughter in her eyes, and a dreamy quality to them, probably from that kiss she'd shared with Joey a few minutes ago. _Kissed. Amy kissed Joey. Joey kissed Amy. Everything is starting to change. Percy will be leaving soon. Amy and Joey might start dating, and…I'm still the same. But…not fully._ I thought about Laura, how she seemed to shine brighter than the sun now. How Annabeth wasn't now.

Annabeth laughed, lightheartedly. Happily, even. Percy just smirked. "Well, Amy, it's sort of a big thing. Our family is so into Greek mythology that we dress up for it every year, and everyone at Camp does too. It's sort of a tradition, really, and my great-great-aunt is the _best_ with outfits and presentation, so she helped us a lot." She shifted in her makeshift chiton, the gold braided belt accenting the white fabric, the olive branch in her hand almost blooming. Where did she even _get_ an olive branch? Where did Percy get a golden trident that looked frighteningly real? It was probably painted gold, at least.

"Are you allowed to carry a weapon, Percy?" he looked down at the trident, then back at me, frowning. "The trident," I added for good measure. He stared at us. "It's not invisible, Percy." The rest of us chimed in. Percy's eyes widened comically.

Annabeth whispered something in his ear, did her lips brush him slightly…? He relaxed.

"It's only painted gold," he said. "It can't harm you." The way he said _you_ made me tense. It was covered in gold paint, but it was obvious Percy seemed to think it could harm somebody else. That it wasn't quite the safe piece of Styrofoam he wanted us to think it was. Amy's brow creased. "Should we start walking?" we left him alone after that, but I could tell all of us remained preoccupied in some way- Amy and Joey kept glancing at each other, sharing the memory of a kiss; Percy and Annabeth stayed on edge as if they were expecting something to go wrong; Laura and I wondered about it all. How everything was starting to change for us.

Amy and Joey walked ahead of everyone, giggling and talking. They'd never been the closest, Laura was Amy's best friend, but apparently now they were going to be _very_ inseparable. Percy and Annabeth were behind Laura and me, talking softly about different things only they could understand.

"Do you think it's going to be the same?" Laura finally broke our silence.

"What do you mean?"

"Percy is leaving, Annabeth will be alone. Joey and Amy…well…we saw them kissing before we started trick or treating, so they'll be with each other all the time and start dating or they'll become very awkward around each other and lose their friendship. Everything's going to be different, Percy says he…he says he might not come back from New York City…and Annabeth is so dependent on him sometimes. It's all going to be different. We could come back for sophomore year, come back for junior and senior, and Percy Jackson wouldn't be with us." I thought about it. It wouldn't be very nice change, every one of us, Annabeth most of all, had gotten used to Percy's presence in the school's halls, and it had been good to know that he'd flunked his Goode admission even though it was bad for him. Would he go there for the remaining of his school year now that he had to go to New York? There was also a girl named Rachel he'd mentioned a few more times since Percy's and Annabeth's big fight on the first day of school. Rachel, who Annabeth didn't like, lived in New York. She went to Goode, that was one of the times they'd met. Rachel seemed to know things. Annabeth was jealous of her, and I had a feeling that would spike should Percy talk of her whilst he remained in New York City, about a girl named Rachel, who'd given Percy a pair of jeans doodled on with Sharpies, and one of Percy's shoes said, 'Kill some monsters for me' in what was definitely a girl's handwriting and definitely wasn't Annabeth's. I knew Annabeth's handwriting well because we'd used to study together before Percy demanded Annabeth's attention more often than I had.

"So, this is probably a good-bye, soon," I heard Annabeth say behind us, her voice soft. "You're- you're going to Goode, aren't you? For the remainder of our freshman year?"

"Yeah, Wise Girl. I'm sorry." Percy's voice was heavy, and I could sense the sadness between them. "But I can't be in California when Luke's ship comes to the docks; I need to go with Beckendorf for the reconnaissance."

"I know. But, next year…" Annabeth paused, and there was grief when she spoke next, "next year, either we'll both come back to California for maybe years…or both of us will be staying with Old Uncle Hades for a very, very long time." It must've been a sort of inside joke about their love of Greek myth, but there was a defined sorrow and acceptance there, as if both Percy and Annabeth were not to live past this coming summer. Laura shot me a quizzical glance and I lifted a shoulder. "If that happens, Seaweed Brain, and I don't get to say good-bye, I'll see you…hopefully in Elysium." I saw her smile, but the grin fell about a mile short of her stunning gray eyes. She looked like an Ancient Greek princess, maybe Andromeda, saying goodbye to her beloved Perseus about to go to war. Percy had said he was named after Perseus. Something about his mother saying he was the only hero to have a happy ending.

Annabeth's smile was soft, and there was hope in her eyes, but along with that was a loss, igniting a pool of gray irises and stirring it around like mist in her eyes.

"Where do you want to go first?" Joey called back to us. We were probably sad excuses for freshman, still trick-or-treating, but here we were anyway on the cold night of October, scouring neighborhoods for candy.

"I don't know!" Laura said. I glanced at her, blond hair gleaming in the Golden Gate Bridge's lamplight. Her blue eyes were like rivers that could drown you but were so pretty you couldn't help coming a little bit closer. I'd never thought that before…must've been hormones or something. A simple crush.

_A simple crush is the same thing you had with Annabeth Minerva Chase. A simple crush that kept leading you on for years was what you had with Annabeth. Because you didn't act on it, didn't get closure. Maybe…_

I stopped thinking about that when we started hitting the candy.

All six of us crowded up to the doors with a porchlight on and a car in the driveway, blushing a little when twelve year old boys and girls stayed home to hand out candy. We were probably too old for it and we didn't care.

"Perseus Jackson…" Percy and Annabeth had crowded up to the door first this time, their hands touching just the slightest bit. I smiled to myself. Percy's shoulder blades tensed, defined through his makeshift toga that Annabeth probably had to help him into. How did this teenage girl know Percy's name? She was rather thin, very pretty, and her eyes flickered, amber colored. Annabeth, slightly behind Percy, shooed us all away as the girl talked to him. "We thought, just maybe, you would stop by. Hurts to have your poor _mortal_ mother all alone with her new husband, not here to give you candy every year…I won't give you candy. You say trick-or-treat, and I choose trick." Her smile was like the Cheshire Cat's, nice at first, malevolent a moment later.

Percy pushed Annabeth out of the way as she leapt, grimacing in pain as the girl lunged and raked her fingernails down his midsection. Falling with his gold trident to hold him up, he thrusted it towards the girl's chest, but she just nimbly dodged the three prongs and turned to Annabeth, who just glared.

"Didn't even bother with putting him under your spell?" Annabeth asked her. "How many of you does Luke have to send to us? How many promises has he made you that you are thinking he'll pay off?" liquid pooled in her eyes. "Luke's wrong, you know. He promised me a family, once. That he was never going to leave, and here he is, trying to kill us. Mark, Amy, Joey, Laura…we'll meet you down the street." We all nodded, but none of us was really willing to leave Percy. Annabeth's eyes were red around the edges.

"Just go! ...Please." and then, out of the sleeve of her dress, she pulled a glowstick, and protected Percy from the psycho as the four of us moved away, slowly. But away. We really were cowards, but Annabeth's pleading voice had gotten to us. I'd never been able to say no to her. Especially if she was crying, which she'd started doing a lot more often now that Percy was here. Hmm.

"Here, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth's voice again, gentle and soft like it had been on the walk, when they were discussing Percy's move to New York for the rest of the year. "It's over. It was another one of Kelli's and Tammi's kind. You'll be safe now. Come on, eat the…the candy. I am not having you die of blood loss Halloween night, Perseus Jackson!" there was fear in her voice now, but she wasn't letting it get to her, and the four of us a little ways down the street waited. "Percy…shoot, screw it, if you won't eat you will drink."

Percy whimpered a little, but eventually got up from where he appeared to be lying on the ground, as Annabeth gave him a bottle full of something, maybe Gatorade, golden and amber. It appeared to rejuvenate him, at least.

"Come on, guys," Annabeth said, too cheerfully, "let's go get more candy."

"Let's go-" opening the door into Annabeth's home, we were greeted by a skinny, kind of tall kid, many twelve, with black hair and olive skin and dark eyes, watching us. "Nico?" Percy asked. **I know Percy and Nico aren't really friends at this time but Percy needs good transportation somehow.** The kid nodded.

"Percy." It was barely Thanksgiving Break. What was this kid doing here? "The Princess Andromeda is making good time, we need you to come now, a month early. Sorry. Duty calls." Percy nodded. Annabeth's face was ashen. "Sorry, but we can't have you here when it's time."

"I know." He sounded resigned. "I'll pack." He started up the stairs, Annabeth watching him.

"I brought Mrs. O'Leary!" Nico called. As if on cue, a HUGE black dog trotted from the kitchen, wagging her fluffy black tail and barking very loudly. Annabeth smiled a little, walking right up to 'Mrs. O'Leary' and giving her a few scratches and pets. The rest of us stared. "She's quite safe, if you must know," Nico said, sounding affronted. "trained by Quintus himself." Annabeth frowned uneasily, sitting down on a sofa and pulling from a desk drawer a computer. It looked like an Apple or Microsoft laptop, but in the place of the Apple or Microsoft symbol was a glowing blue Delta.

"Annabeth, could you help me find my blue shorts?" Percy yelled downstairs. Laura giggled.

"NO!" Annabeth screamed at him. We were all a little taken aback, but Annabeth acted like nothing had happened, and Nico didn't even flinch. "Hey, Nico, do you know which file on the computer has Mrs. O'Leary's 3D models?" Nico pointed to one. The computer projected an image of a ball big enough for the black dog, who chased it as Annabeth moved it around the room, smiling a little.

"What is that?" Amy asked, lacing her fingers with Joey's. I forgot to mention, they're dating now. After Halloween night, Amy, who lives right next to me, invited Joey to her house, and I looked out my bedroom window and voila! Kissing.

The next day, Laura and I teased them about it, so much, that they had no choice but to finally tell us that they had officially started dating. I remember the time Joey showed up at my place in a panic about what he should wear to their first date, which…he planned at the zoo. Amy wasn't too pleased with that one.

Percy finished packing a little while later, and we stood in silence while Annabeth scowled and worked on her computer, in no mood to talk to anyone, and Nico just stood there, looking very uncomfortable.

"Do you need to rest first?"

"No. See you, Annabeth. Mortals." Mortals? Who was this weirdo kid, anyways?

"Bye, Nico." Annabeth's voice was cold as ice, almost freezing to hear. It was obvious she was more than a little angry, and she typed on the keys so hard I was surprised the keyboard of her laptop hadn't broken.

"Annabeth, you know-"

"Perseus Jackson, GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" she started off quieter until she was screaming at him again, and both of them ducked out, Percy giving us an apologetic smile and wave, but staring at Annabeth.

"I'll see you at Winter Break, okay?" Annabeth looked at him, steel-eyed, and Percy closed the door.

**This is the longest chapter yet! 2500 words or something! Percy has officially gone to New York, a month earlier than intended. Also, thank you for 22.5K views!**


	17. He's Actually Gone

**Here I am again! So, Percy has officially left San Francisco. He isn't exactly on good terms with Annabeth right now, as his leaving was kind of abrupt and left her blindsided and alone- the mortals don't know what she's going through. If you can't guess, the time is in between Book 4 and Book 5, in late November, Thanksgiving time for Americans.**

**Nobody, it takes a few days for me to write a chapter, I try to post on Tuesdays or Thursday/Friday.**

**Annabeth's POV:**

Sometimes, Percy could be _really_ annoying. I thought we had one more month together. Another month to try and see, maybe, if he felt anything towards me before going to New York to spend time with Rachel Elizabeth Dare. But no! _Nico di Angelo_ had to show up with Mrs. O'Leary and take my second crush to go fight my first crush, without me. It would've been so much easier had we gone together at winter break and I'd left him. Nico had always acted kind of weird around me, like he didn't like me or something. I'm sure he took some pleasure in taking away Seaweed Brain from me. After he'd left, all the others did too, must've picked up on the bad mood I was in, even though I had also been working on the laptop Daedalus had given me, which always made me happy to discover what the inventor had put inside. His sacrifice to stop Luke still hurt, but not as much as the fact that he had to die to stop…_Luke._ Whose promises really had meant nothing, who'd tried to poison Percy, who'd tricked me into saving his life, who'd tried to kill me with the weight of the sky itself. If I couldn't trust Luke, who could I trust? Thalia? Grover? Percy? The rest of camp could be traitors for all I knew, even Malcolm, my half-brother, or Connor and Travis, the sons of Hermes who liked pranking me with spiders and loved Bobby and Matthew to a fault.

Thanksgiving would probably suck. Before, Percy and I were going to spend Thanksgiving with Sally and Paul, who'd married recently, but now that was a no. Percy was probably having a nice Thanksgiving dinner with a family who loved him for who he was. And I had Bobby and Matthew for siblings, instead of Tyson, who was a sweetheart. For a father, I had Dad, who'd chosen Helen over me, while Percy got Paul who was at least partially understanding of him. A mother? Helen was in no way good for that position, but Sally was really…well, she was _a mom._ She was accepting and she was, well, perfect. No wonder Poseidon had taken an interest in her.

Needless to say, I was dreading tomorrow, the Thanksgiving Thursday. I didn't have much to be thankful for. I could be heading to Great-Uncle Hades's realm this August. _Percy_ could be heading to Hades's realm this August. Or Luke. Anyone. And what if Percy didn't make the right choice, fought for the wrong side? I'd heard the prophecy years ago and it still gave me nightmares. It was all depending on Percy- on his sixteenth birthday.

Which meant we were probably all going to have to pray to Mount Olympus for the next months until August eighteenth. I didn't have much faith in Percy right now.

"Annabeth!" Helen. Ugh. She'd _'tried'_ to be nicer ever since I'd moved to San Francisco for Dad, and Bobby and Matthew had been the same, I was their 'sister', according to Dad, and Helen would grimace every time, but at least they were nice. She was like a cat who'd sheathed her claws, and at the first sign of trouble, would slide them right out. Dad thought it was such a big improvement of her attitude towards me, he didn't do anything about. "Come watch the turkey while Frederick and I go out with Bobby and Matthew." I paused. Seriously?_ She_ got to go out with my stepbrothers and my dad while I got to watch a freaking piece of poultry cook in an oven?!

I sighed. This was really going to be a long Thanksgiving.

**Percy's POV:**

I'd tried to Iris-message Annabeth thrice. Which had lost me three drachmas, and I had five. She hadn't picked up at all- still mad at me. Since calling my mortal friends would earn me a spot on the monster radar, I couldn't talk to Laura, Joey, Amy, or Mark. I supposed I could try some of the people at Camp, or Thalia, but they were having their Thanksgiving feast at Camp and the Thalia was the lieutenant, they were probably tracking some weird pig or something.

I remember when she screamed at me to get out, less than three days ago. It wasn't like it was totally unexpected that I'd have to leave really soon- one month wasn't all that long. Though, coming into your house, happy that you had no more school, to see Nico di Angelo- no offense to him, but that kid was _creepy_. But anyway- and learning that your best friend (or so she said) had to leave a month earlier than usual to go defend New York in a war that could kill him- that would be very, very anger-inducing, or at least it would for me if Annabeth had to go. At least we'd sorted out the fact that Annabeth had kissed me on Mount St. Helens before running off and was actually mad that I accidentally got blasted to Calypso's island. That was kind of messed up. Girls.

But now, she was mad about _this._ Apparently, I was the child of the Big Three who was supposed to save/destroy Olympus. Shouldn't she by happy that I was going to head Luke off, instead of joining him and Kronos like Chris Rodriguez and Luke himself? Deep down, Annabeth probably thought Luke would change his mind and come back to her like Chris had come back, though preferably not crazy.

Even though I was sure rational Annabeth knew that Luke was never coming back, Annabeth used to know him and I remembered unbridled adoration in her eyes when he gave us the 'gifts' in our quest.

I remembered the disbelief in Annabeth's eyes when I told her Luke had lured me into the woods and unleashed a scorpion that scarred me, when I told her Luke had fallen and was never coming back and she stubbornly said that no, I can feel he's alive. I remembered my jealousy then, how it made me wonder if Luke was Annabeth's romantic soulmate or something after all.

"Percy!" Paul. "We need to go down to the school and finalize the transfer papers for you." I nodded, debating. "We'll be back in half an hour, tops."

I went for it. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Annabeth Chase." Throwing the drachma in, I was surprised to see Annabeth's face- her tan, the golden curls and her gray eyes- shimmer into view, but her eyes darkened as soon as she saw me- she must not have known I was the one calling.

"Just stop it." Her voice was bitter. She was sitting in the kitchen, to her back was the turkey, the oven light on. The house was silent, and Annabeth was scowling. When I looked back at her, she was already dissolving the mist connection.

"Anna-" she'd already ruined the Iris-message, and I was down to one last drachma. She was being kind of unreasonable, but girls were always a mystery to me. I didn't get why she was this upset that she wouldn't talk to me and her last words before I left were 'Perseus Jackson, GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!'. So I was guessing she wasn't going to talk to me if I used my last, and very-much-needed, drachma on Annabeth Chase.

Whatever her reasons for trying to cut me out, I knew Annabeth wouldn't be so unreasonable as to skip winter break in camp because of me, we'd meet then. For now, I hoped her Thanksgiving would be nice, I wouldn't be stopping by Camp but I knew they would be having a great Thanksgiving with or without Annabeth or myself. Annabeth's Thanksgiving with Frederick, Helen, Bobby and Matthew, though, I was glad I wasn't a part of after all- Helen was a menace sometimes and while she liked me since I'd saved Annabeth and she was trying to be better about Annabeth there were still the attacks that left her angry about the partially destroyed house, Annabeth she could be nasty towards.

**Mark's POV:**

I wasn't sure what I was thankful for. Percy's departure? Nope. Joey and Amy dating? Eh. School being out? Obviously. But besides those things, nothing big had happened since Halloween, except for Joey and Amy starting to date and all that.

My Thanksgivings were always fun and happy, I knew Annabeth had been looking forward to it until Percy had left a month earlier than expected for some weird thing that they hadn't quite explained to us. I didn't even want to know at this time, to be honest. After Percy left, Annabeth's bad mood was so tangible it was like it was suffocating us, and I left the house first.

I felt bad about it later, except Annabeth clearly wanted to be alone, she was muttering to herself in what I thought was Greek, almost punching the keys on her keyboard with her fingers and glaring at the door where Percy had left.

The Monday after Thanksgiving Break's end, Annabeth, Amy, Joey, Laura, and I met up at lunch, without Percy though. It was weird- we hadn't hung out like this since last spring, that day when Percy appeared at the door and I made Annabeth cry. Eighth grade. So much had happened since then. And now it was weird to see Annabeth without Percy doing something stupid by her side. It was weird to look over in Greek and not see Percy smirking while Annabeth snickered due to something the teacher, or Percy/Annabeth, would say. It was weird to see Annabeth running in front of the class and passing everyone else alone, weird to see Annabeth only go inside the Chase household, weird to meet Annabeth at Mitchell's **(a REALLY GOOD ice cream shop)** without Percy already swiping some of her flavor to add to whatever weird blue special flavor they'd come up with next, weird to watch Annabeth come in at lunch without Percy. I couldn't even imagine what Percy was doing without Annabeth, I'd only ever seen him with her, really. They went to Camp together. They had lived together.

They were Percy and Annabeth.

**So so sorry that it's been so long, my evil kitty got mad at me and gave me a lovely hand injury that it kinda hurts to type with. I'll probably do at least one more chapter without Percy because it'll be September when they see Percy and Annabeth together again…**


	18. Annabeth's Gone, Too

**Hello again! No more school in my district until September, so now I have too much time and not enough to do but write Fanfiction, play instruments and play Minecraft! Sad. I do nothing all day…very sad.**

**Mark's POV:**

"Annabeth!" Amy called. "Wait! Annabeth!" a flash of blonde, glinting in the winter sun. Annabeth had been having a harder time keeping it together in school, there would always be the high school girls who thought Annabeth was only Percy's friend because he was 'cute' or something like that, or that she was a gold-digger (odd, because our friend group knew Percy was actually really poor), or a slut, and they'd pushed her over the edge as she ran alone for the last day of P.E., in front of everybody else, and in the locker room they'd gotten her to cry and she'd left school like that, and we weren't sure where she was going now- she'd run off before we'd gotten out of the school- it happened often, but today she wasn't here.

"I think-" Joey started. "I think she's already gone." That seemed to be the case. We walked home, silently. Winter Break was here, but none of us really had plans- we were all staying at home, I was pretty sure.

"There." Laura pointed, quietly. We turned. Annabeth was going the opposite way from home- running. How she had that much energy after the horrible P.E. classes, I didn't know- it exhausted the rest of the class, our P.E. coach was strict on us but I doubted it was going to get us into shape anytime soon.

"Annabeth!" I called out to her. She turned. Why? I knew that Annabeth, who had good hearing and tracking abilities, had heard Amy calling her, and the rest of us. Why only me? And why here? Her eyes were a little red around the edges, but she didn't seem perturbed. "Where are you going?"

She paused in her jog. Her gray eyes were stormy, and I guessed that Laura and Amy hadn't told us the whole truth about what the girls had said. "I'm going home." The rest of us probably had expressions on our faces like, 'you do know that your house is that way, right?' I knew she knew. Annabeth was the smartest person I'd ever met. She just probably wasn't in the mood to go right home to her family now.

"You do know that your house is that way, right?" Joey asked stupidly. Annabeth rolled her eyes, she seemed annoyed and short- not in the physical sense, mentally- like, irritated and annoyed short.

"Taking the long route, home, Joey. The really long route. I need to, uh, do some stuff." There was a guilty expression on her face. A little voice in my head spoke up, and I didn't like what it was saying.

'She's lying, Mark, can't you see? Annabeth is lying'. That's what the voice was saying. It did look like that was what Annabeth was doing, the guilt was etched clearly into the few lines on Annabeth's face.

"Okay, then." I said fake cheerfully. "Annabeth, we'll come by your house in what? Half an hour?" she nodded, the San Francisco wind blowing her long blond hair, but she still looked kind of guilty, but I couldn't tell why. School was out. Everything was perfect- except that Percy wasn't here, not for the year.

"Yeah. Maybe." She said the words so quietly, I had to strain my ears to hear them, and then she'd disappeared again, running down the sidewalks and past the cars and houses, onto the street with various shops and she kept moving, getting farther and farther away from the four of us, without a glance back.

Half an hour later, Joey, Amy, Laura and I stood outside the Chase home, nervous, for some reason. Annabeth's words, her obvious guilt and impatience, had been…fishy, the lies on her face very, very clear.

"Did anyone get the feeling Annabeth was lying, about…going home? The long way?" Laura and Amy nodded, but Joey just looked very, very confused. Not to be offensive to Joey, but, sometimes, he's kind of slow with things, and you could see the fireworks going off in his head, and Laura and I started to laugh.

"Ooh…that's what the expression was!" he cried triumphantly. Amy burst into giggles and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Hey!" I raised a hand and knocked, not loudly but not soft. Helen- Mrs. Chase- answered the door, looking surprised to see us. Why hadn't Annabeth answered the door instead of her?

"Hello, Mrs. Chase. Is Annabeth here?" she stared at us, and I looked inside the house. No Annabeth.

"She didn't tell you?" we shook our heads, confused. Mrs. Chase looked off to the side, looking oddly pensive about what to tell us and what not to tell us, the same expression I'd seen on Annabeth's face a while ago.

"In about an hour, Annabeth's flight to New York City is departing. She's going to her Camp for the Winter Holidays. She didn't tell you?" She looked a little like she'd expected this, surprisingly enough.

_In about an hour, Annabeth's flight to New York City is departing. She's going to her Camp for the Winter Holidays._ I cleared my throat. "No. No, Annabeth didn't tell us."

"I can't _believe_ Annabeth didn't tell us she was going to New York, and then said we could come by her house later. She must've been too chicken to tell us she was flying off to see Percy." Amy exploded. "She could've at least said she wouldn't be around for the holidays." Privately I agreed with her- Annabeth was supposed to be our friend, friends shouldn't keep big secrets like that.

Thing was, I already knew Annabeth had already kept a lot of big secrets from us, her and Percy. They'd always kept too many things from us like we weren't good enough and it would always infuriate me.

Bypassing security and telling them we were just here to see our friend off was hard, but we eventually managed to convince the guards to let us through after showing our school IDs to them. Annabeth's New York flight was leaving in ten minutes, and the gate was at the other end of the airport.

"There! 16." **I have no idea how many gates there are in the SF airport, don't judge me, I've only been there once, and I was half-asleep from a nine hour flight.**

There she was- sitting down and reading a book, going over it and mouthing the words with a slight smile on her face, and looking without a care in the world. Where had the guilt for leaving us behind gone? She didn't even see us and she was smiling at the book and closed her eyes as if relieving old memories. We were silent, we just stood there as she read and got up to start to board. And then she saw us.

Her mouth opened and closed and she stood there, stunned, holding a backpack and a small bag that we'd thought were gym clothes and I noticed a slight shimmer in the air and she stared at it helplessly. The shimmer disappeared. She turned back to us.

Laura exploded. "You didn't think it necessary to tell us that you were flying off to see Percy? You didn't think you should tell your long-time friends that you weren't going to be around for the Winter Holidays? Why, Annabeth? If you can go right through Tiffany's and Alexis's stupid criticisms why not this, which actually is justified?" Tiffany and Alexis were the 'popular' girls who liked to tease Annabeth and insult her. "We're the people you've known the longest. Did you really have to lie to us about taking the long route home? About going home? Meeting us?" Annabeth looked perturbed at that and spoke, softly.

"You aren't."

"What?"

"You aren't the people I've known the longest. And I didn't lie to you. I told you guys I _might_ meet you and look- I did. I told you that I was going home, taking a long route, and I am. Camp is my home. It was my home since I was seven and ran away and faced _monsters,_ Laura, Amy, Joey, Mark. It still is my home, I've known people like Silena Beauregard, Connor and Travis Stoll, Beckendorf, my brother Malcolm, for _years. _Since I was seven. I returned here when I turned twelve, for seventh grade, but I knew them since I was seven. It was Percy who convinced me to come back, and sometimes, when I'm alone, in the dark, I wonder if it was a mistake to listen. Especially when there's a real family, maybe a dysfunctional and weird family, but a real family, there in New York. And there's a woman named Sally Jackson who treats me like she would a daughter. A real daughter, when my only relation to her is Percy."

"What I'm saying is, if I had told you, we'd have had the same conversation just a little earlier in the day. You would've argued and tried to convince me and I have to board a plane to see the people who really, _really,_ care for me. The people who let me go to SF even when I've been by them, the people who I need to see before I don't have any time left."

And after that, Annabeth was gone. She melded into a line and all you could see was her blond hair glittering from the bright airport light and I saw her give a boarding pass and walk into the plane, and we watched as it took off, all silently. We all knew Annabeth was justified in this but it still hurt that she chose not to tell us she was leaving over being honest with what we used to think were her 'best' friends. Just friends.

_I have to board a plane to see the people who really, _really_ care for me. The people who let me go to SF even when I've been by them, the people who I need to see before I don't have any time left._

_Before I don't have any time left._

Was she telling us that she was going to die?

**Annabeth's POV:**

The takeoff was bumpy but amusing. I remembered Percy, on the flight we took back home, had freaked out. We'd had to go up to the Empire State Building to get clearance so he could fly back without being blasted out of the sky.

Luckily for me, that was my grandfather and he didn't want to kill me. I brushed my hair out of my face and stared at the airport. I didn't regret what I said to Laura- not really. She should've just left it alone, and my real family would always be at Camp Half-Blood, in Long Island Sound, and they weren't my best friends no matter what I was to them.

I'd expected them to come find me. I'd expected them to be angry, like I had been at Percy. If I came back after Winter Break, I would most likely drop out of freshman year after Spring Break, because of the War, anyway. It wasn't like it would get easier for them, but for me, I was coming home. They were my friends, but…they were mortal. They belonged in this world in a way I could never fully be- a part of my blood was supposed to be in Olympus. And a terrifying part of this, of leaving them behind and going to my half-blood family, was knowing that if I stayed past Winter Break, I may never see them again.

I might not come home from the War. We might win, but I might not live. Percy might not live.

And that was the worst thing about all of it, was knowing that Percy might never see Sally Jackson again, maybe he wouldn't get to read the novel his mom was working on. Maybe he wouldn't ever set things right with Nico and he might never get to fight again with Thalia.

He deserved to be on this world, with a fatal flaw of loyalty. I was too arrogant and prideful.

I was going to die saving him if I had to.


	19. And Now Laura Blows Up

**Hello again! It's me, with the nineteenth chapter. Almost twenty! And this story has 28K views! So in the story, Annabeth just left for New York and hadn't told Mark, Amy, Joey and Laura anything before her departure, when they rushed to the airport in time to catch her and questioned her and she got mad at them and left. So now, Annabeth flew to New York to see Camp Half-Blood and Percy for Christmas/Winter Break and they are still in San Francisco. **

**I wasn't sure what to do so I'm going to do a little of what happens over break and then Annabeth will come back for school…but Percy is with Rachel…**

**Annabeth's POV:**

Laura had nerve I'll give her that. For a mortal, at least, I knew it wouldn't have been easy to just watch me go. Percy hated it, at least. I'd wondered when I first met them whether they were all mortals, but that seemed to be the case. Of course, there had also been Tara and Jayden, the daughter of Aphrodite and her mortal brother, even though they were identical twins (don't ask me how it happened, maybe it was like the story of Heracles and his twin brother). I hadn't missed the fact that all the mortals except for Mark froze when Michael Yew manipulated the Mist but I knew he hadn't seen what was really there. Joey seemed like a regular mortal, with his (no offense to Joey) stupidity and comicalness. The only time Thalia, who had a knack for sensing this stuff, had met them, she'd commented that all of them were interesting and they were more than they seemed, more than I thought they were, at least.

Now I was wondering what they were if they were more than they seemed. A clear-sighted mortal, maybe, but four of them, all friends? That couldn't ever happen. I'd be surprised if they were all demigods, the Mist had manipulated them all in some way at least. They could all be just regular mortals.

"Annabeth, my dear…" Chiron looked the same as always, though a little older from the stress of managing a camp full of godly mortals that had many sons of Hermes. I knew why Mr. D was so bitter, if I was a goddess, I wouldn't want to be the patron of Camp Half-Blood no matter how much I love Camp.

"Chiron!"

"How have you been? Has San Francisco been treating you well?"

"Yes…I have some…mortal friends. Percy was in San Francisco with me until he had to move to await Luke's ship, and so it was good for a while there. Now he's gone, so…" Chiron nodded softly, he'd been like a second father to me while I lived at Camp Half-Blood after running away and losing Thalia to the monsters on Half-Blood Hill. Moving to San Francisco and leaving him had been hard, harder than leaving home when I was seven had been, because Chiron loved her and at that point, seven-year-old me thought I had no one, spiders plagued me at night while Helen watched.

And then I saw Percy. He approached warily, at a distance seeing as the last time they had actually spoken I had gotten mad at him and dissolved Percy's Iris-message and taken another of the few drachmas I knew he had, but I was happy to see him now. "Hey."

"Hi." I bit my lip, tasting the blood from my cracked lips. I hadn't put on chapstick and the cold San Francisco air had worn down the skin until it was dry and cracked. I tasted the metallic tang of what I knew to be blood but didn't spit it, choosing instead to swallow.

I didn't agree with my choice. There were many choices I had made in the past twenty-four hours that I didn't agree with now that the deeds were done. Laura probably hadn't deserved that rant, but I'd done that. They probably deserved to be told, not led on, but what was done, was done. I was in New York now I was at Camp Half-Blood on Long Island Sound and I was going to enjoy being home.

It would've been so much easier if my father hadn't taken the San Francisco job and yet he had, but New York had been my home since I went out on the streets and met a twelve-year-old girl with black hair and blue eyes and an older boy with sandy blond hair, who didn't yet have a scar marring what had been a handsome face.

I had fallen for that face once. It was all gone now, there was a scar running down the side and while I'd still liked him there wasn't a chance anymore now that I had chosen to stay with the gods and Olympus while Luke had kidnapped me and forced me to hold the sky and gone with the titans and Othrys. If I had wanted to stay with him, I'd missed my chance and I hadn't regretted it.

"I, uh…there was a phone call. To Camp, about you." Chiron said kindly. "From a young mortal girl named Laura Hansen." Her name hit me like a slap in the face. Percy shrugged. "Percy here picked it up, apparently she's one of your mortal friends?"

"Yeah." I nodded, and Percy pulled me aside. "I'm guessing Amy, Mark and Joey were still with her? Wait, how did she get Camp's only telephone number?"

"Laura called, she was pretty mad at you to be honest, when I picked up, she said that you'd fought with them and said they didn't care about you, she said you were wrong and that they were shocked that you didn't care enough to tell them you were leaving. She got the number from your dad, who I guess had it." I nodded, and Percy went on. "She said they only just caught you boarding the plane." I nodded again, my tongue seeking out the crack in my lip and the faint metallic taste clinging to it, and the pain.

"They were mad because I didn't want to tell them I was leaving, and I said I was going home to the people who cared about me because I might not have much time left." Percy frowned. He could be so clueless, but then again, he hadn't yet seen the prophecy- that terrifying prophecy that I'd had nightmares about since I first read it years ago.

_A half-blood of the eldest gods,_

_Shall reach sixteen against all odds_

_And see the world in endless sleep_

_The hero's soul cursed blade shall reap_

_A single choice shall end his days_

_Olympus to preserve or raze_

For a while, I had been hopeful that Thalia would turn out to still be alive and she'd be freed and be the child of the prophecy, now though I knew it was definitely Percy, he was turning sixteen this year and there was nothing that could manage to kill him in between this winter and this summer.

"You're going to get through this, Annabeth. You've been training at camp for years- since you were seven, and now you're fifteen. And besides-" there was a dark shadow on his face now, and my stomach dropped uncomfortably- "Luke won't kill you unless it's really, really necessary."

Cue the awkward silence. I knew he was right, but it didn't make it hurt any less that Luke, after betraying me, decided it would be no good to kill me because I'd been like the little sister he never had, even though my feelings for him had gone past that. It had all been no good as soon as Percy started to speak, still pale from a pit scorpion's sting on his hand, given as much nectar as we could risk on him.

"Yeah, well, they were already kind of mad because you left with little to no warning and so they'd already lost you, and then I didn't want to tell them because I knew they'd get all 'why do you have to go to that camp? Why can't we go? Why won't you tell us anything?' because they always do, you know, and then I got mad at them so…"

_What you don't know is the prophecy, because if you really are the hero, you're going to die…and I want to stay with you as long as I can before because this is your prophecy, you must be the one who's going to die…_Percy looked at me, he smiled a little.

"Well, you have two and a half weeks, right? I suppose we should make the most of Winter Break before Paul transfers me to Goode, officially." I tried to not make my smile waver. I remembered how happy I'd been, I was, or at least I fancied, going on a 'date' with Percy, and I'd been so happy when he ran into me. And then, this red-haired, kinda pretty girl just, ran out behind him, shouting his name and saying she wanted answers, and she was definitely a mortal. I was angry enough that I skipped out on the movie, because why in the world would I go on a date with someone when they already had their new girlfriend or whatever? And then, he had the nerve to bring Rachel along on _my_ quest. Where she almost got Percy killed with a giant and was basically a big pain for me.

I was mostly done with it now, I knew he'd had reasons because Rachel was clear-sighted or whatever, but I'd still hated it even though Rachel had probably been essential to the quest. It had been a horrible one, though. First Rachel, then I kissed him, then Calypso, then Rachel again. At least he probably knew now that I liked him as I was sure he still remembered that kiss.

Or at least, I hoped so.

Percy and I, as cabin counselors, had to plan out our cabins' activities but didn't necessarily have to do them, but it was fun to test myself against Percy on the lava rock wall- I won- though when Percy got a third-degree-burn from the lava that was over really quick.

He still sucked at archery, like, a colossal amount, and didn't even try. I wasn't sure how the gods had managed to guide him with the arrow that slew Geryon. Unfortunately, Apollo's kids came along and started being downright obnoxious so we left.

Percy's favorite part of the whole day, you could tell, was when we went down to the beach and he started playing in the water like a two-year-old. I half-expected him to drown in the water because of the way he acted like a child in it, but he couldn't drown, he could literally breathe water if he needed to.

"Ack!" I narrowed my eyes. "You're going down, Water Boy." Percy looked scared and tried to run, but the water, fortunately, pulled at his legs and I followed him, already wet from the splashes he'd made.

**Laura's POV:**

After making a call to the 'Camp' place, a man picked up.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"My name's Laura Hansen, I'm looking for a girl named Annabeth Chase." There was quiet muttering in the background. "Hello?" Amy, Joey, and Mark crowded around me as I'd put the phone on speaker.

"Percy- some mortal named Laura Hansen…yes, yes, looking for our beloved Athena counselor…"

"Annabeth's flight doesn't get here for a while, Chiron…" someone started talking again, to us.

"Laura?" Percy's voice. Percy? He must've already been at Camp, then.

"Hey, Percy, is Annabeth here?"

"Her flight won't arrive for a few more hours. I can…take a message." He sounded tired, and when he spoke again, it wasn't to me. "Hey, Connor, Travis, for capture-the-flag tomorrow do you want an alliance?"

"Sure!"

"Well, tell Annabeth that her little stunt disappearing off to where-ever-you-are was _not_ appreciated and when she comes back to New York she has a lot of explaining to do." I hung up. Mr. Chase looked over at us.

"Annabeth has her reasons, Laura, Amy, Joey, Mark. You might not understand them, I don't understand them, but we're just not part of their world."

"What world?" I was hoping he'd tell me, but he just shrugged and turned back to a coffee.

_Annabeth is still going to have a _lot_ of explaining to do…_

**P.S.:**

**JoeBob, I know you are waiting. I also know that my cat killed my sleep last night, and I have other Fanfictions that I also write! Just read those or other things.**

**I will try to do another one in a few days :P**


	20. Author's Note

Hey!

Because of personal stuff I am going to be on hiatus for a while, so I won't be updating for a week and it may be longer depending on what happens.

So so sorry but that's just how it is and I'll see.

Stay healthy!


	21. And Then They Both Blow Up

**Hello again! I'm back from my hiatus with the twenty-first chapter, so that's fun…**

**For the people who asked, I'm fine it was some family/personal stuff.**

**Mark's POV:**

Annabeth flew back into San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon- three days after school had started and looking relatively carefree and very much unlike the Annabeth that we knew to be very uptight about schoolwork. But that wasn't the only surprise- she hadn't told us when she was coming back- does it give you a sense of déjà vu about when she left? And also, there were people with her. A lot of people.

We didn't know when she was coming back, we happened to see her in Golden Gate Park having a picnic with some other people. Percy was with them, and a lot of kids we'd seen once or twice and some that we hadn't.

She looked happy- almost too happy. Her blonde hair was beautiful in the sunlight and shone like spun gold, her gray eyes sparkling and dancing like they'd been set alight. She'd somehow rebirthed her fading California tan- which was definitely weird because one- it was winter, there was never that much sunlight in January and it was too cold- and two, New York was probably colder than San Francisco was. Percy had put an arm around her recently, and she shrugged it off, giving him a teasing smile.

I saw a girl with spiky black hair and some weird silver crown in her hair, her blue eyes blazing as she gestured animatedly at Annabeth, talking rather fast. Another black haired girl, but it was long and shiny, with dark brown eyes and a _really_ pretty face, sat cuddled up to a large teenage boy, African American, who smiled down at her. An olive-skinned boy wearing an aviator jacket, very skinny and noticeably younger than the rest of them, sat hugging his knees, a few feet away from the rest of them. Two twin boys with troublemaker smiles were inching closer and closer to the crowned girl's pocket. A boy with acne and the wisps of a goatee and a Rasta cap, crutches laid next to the picnic blanket and shoes taken off, showing off…what was that? Showing off his feet, I guessed, was talking comfortably to another big boy, with big dark eyes.

Laura looked mad. She'd been, of course, the one who mainly yelled at Annabeth when she'd flown out to New York in December. Amy, however, flinched back with a startled gasp. She was staring at two people in particular, and they weren't Percy and Annabeth. It was the boy with the Rasta cap and his crutches and the shoes next to him, and the big boy he was talking to. Her jaw had dropped and her eyes were wide with what looked like…was that _horror?_

"What the…" her voice trailed off, and her hand slipped from Joey's where'd they'd been talking and sometimes kissing. Laura was marching across the grass and I could almost see the figurative smoke pouring out of her ears while the rest of us mostly stood there before following, Amy trailing a few feet away and still scared-looking.

Percy's face stilled as he saw us coming, the first of them, and they all turned, conversations dying off:

"Annabeth-" Percy started to say.

"Tyson, we have company." The Rasta cap boy said. His feet were bare, but I could barely make them out.

"Charlie!" the girl who had been cuddling the African American drew away from him worriedly.

"Annie, I think these are your-" the spiky haired girl stopped as we neared them.

"Friends?" the aviator jacket boy said, curling up tighter and rocking on his ankles.

Laura was trembling with rage, Amy let out a frightened squeak as they neared. Joey and I were mainly apprehensive as we stared at them and Laura's angry, squinted eyes, dark with anger.

"Guys-" Annabeth started to say, but Laura exploded and started ranting.

were coming back! Do you have any _idea_ how worried we were? About you? About Percy, as well, who disappeared without a trace?" she rounded on him. "Oh, wait, _no,_ you _weren't,_ you had all your real friends, because it's really apparent to us that you don't particularly care about us as we care for you! Don't even try to deny it, Annabeth Minerva Chase!" Laura was shaking and her hands clenched into fists, her eyes livid.

No one spoke. And then-

"Your middle name is Minerva, Annie?" Annabeth hissed at the spiky-haired girl; her silver crown nestled firmly on her head.

"Thalia!" Annabeth reprimanded. And then, to us- "if you don't want me to deny it, Laura, then I won't. Now, I was kind of-"

"See! There's another one. Real friends try to deny it, real friends don't give up so easily." Now Annabeth was even angrier, and Percy looked annoyed too. The others- Thalia, and the nameless ones, looked concerned.

"Annabeth-"

"Well, Laura, maybe you aren't our real friends, okay? I don't fully belong here anyway. I should be back on the East Coast, and yet, you're here messing up the last few hours I have with my 'real' friends."

Laura was gone before I could blink, and I suspected there were tears on her face. "Any of you have something to ask?"

Amy spoke bravely. _"What_ are those?" she gestured at the boy with the cap and the big guy he'd been talking to. Annabeth suddenly looked rather scared. "No, wait, don't tell me, keep _another_ secret from your fake friends, Annabeth." She ran off as well, after Laura, who lurked at the edge of the grass.

"Amy- oh, gods." Annabeth moaned. "Not another one."

"I second Amy," Joey said halfheartedly. "Don't even try it with me, Annabeth." She seemed alarmed now, and the girl called Thalia snapped her fingers.

"You don't remember any of this." Joey and I both stared at her.

"Uh, yes, we do." She shook her head.

"Annabeth, I think you'll have to bring in the four of them." Annabeth shook her head violently.

"No way."

"Joey." Annabeth said softly, pleadingly. He shook his head.

I was the only one left.

"Mark?" Percy asked. I was shaking, left staring at them.

"Do you remember, Annabeth? The day Percy came to visit you the first time? When we first met him?" she nodded mutely. "When you asked me who the closest person to me was that wasn't my family, I said it was you. And it was the truth. You said it was Percy, and I was shocked, and hurt, and angry, but all of it can't compare to this. You said yourself that we aren't really your friends, you couldn't even tell us you were coming back." I paused. "I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow, Annabeth." I was about to leave when she spoke.

"Maybe one day, you'll see I have a good reason."

I stared at her.

"You'd never let us go to your Camp anyway. You guys are probably just a bunch of drug addicts who are high or something." The wounded look that flashed on her face hurt me as well and I couldn't pretend what I'd said hadn't been wrong. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. Really. Maybe one day, you'll look back on this and you'll realize that maybe, maybe we had a point to make and feelings and emotion as well. We were born just like you."

The guy with the cap sniggered. "I hope not." Annabeth shot him a glare, but everybody else was suppressing smiles at the inside joke.

"You can't see them," Annabeth said, sounding hopeful. "You can't see them…can you?"

"The only thing I can see is that you are probably crazy and that all the years with you as my best friend were wasted." I walked away then.

"Worth a shot," I heard Annabeth mutter behind me.

"You know it's never that easy with…, Anna." Percy said softly. I heard her sigh softly.

Laura, being the persistent, resentful girl she was, had set up a picnic with Amy and Joey over by the edge of the grass, I knew there were stares from Annabeth's group of friends and occasionally their laughter, or their words, drifted with the wind.

"Amy." Amy jerked up at the sound of her dad's voice, accompanied by a woman with hair the color of golden wheat, and eyes like green grass. Her father's voice was apprehensive, and I realized with a jolt that heading over warily were Annabeth, Percy, and the others.

"Dad? Who is…?" Annabeth started murmuring to Percy, and I noticed there was a triumphant glint in her steel-gray eyes.

"_I told you, Perce. There was at least one of them that was strange."_ I felt a hot flash of anger on Amy's behalf and just stared at Annabeth. She'd never looked so strange and terrible to me as she did right now.

"This is your mother, Amy. Her name is…" he glanced at her, a crease in his brow, as a light came up in the girl with the long black hair.

"My name is Demeter, Amy." Annabeth smiled like the Cheshire Cat, and muttered to Rasta Cap Boy:

"_I don't know how I didn't see it before."_

"So? You just come back into my life when I'm fifteen? In the middle of my freshman year of high school? When everything else in my life has gone fully and totally wrong?" Percy and Annabeth flinched as she said this but kept watching without comment. "I don't want to see you again." The golden-haired woman smiled.

"Very well. Miss Chase? Mr. Underwood? Mr. Jackson? You've picked them up before. My daughter is your friend, yes?" she spoke to Annabeth primarily, and as she said, 'you've picked them up before', Annabeth grimaced.

"Not anymore," Amy growled. "Not after today."

"Miss Beauregard?" the girl with the long black hair spoke sweetly.

"_Amy, you want to come with us, don't you?"_ Amy hesitated before shaking her head, Joey clutching her hand violently as a flush rose in his usually pale cheeks.

"Hell no." the girl, 'Miss Beauregard', shook her head.

"Silena, I don't think you can help too much here then," Annabeth said to her. "Thalia, you either and Beckendorf…" she shook her head uneasily.

"You never told me what those were," Amy said, pointing to the boys still unnamed.

"It would be explained if you came with us." The Rasta Cap Boy interjected.

"Hush, Grover! Tyson…maybe you two can go with Mrs. O'Leary and Nico." Nico was the boy with the aviator jacket, and the three of them, plus Percy's big black dog, left.

"Amy," the woman named Demeter- Amy's mother? – said, "if you don't go with them…you may not have another chance…you may not have a chance at all." Thalia winced, her back stiff and straight, the silver in her hair glimmering in the sunlight.

"I don't want a chance," Amy said. "I want my 'friends' back, only this time I want them to actually be my friends. And not keep so many secrets." Annabeth stared back.

"Can't unless you come with us."

"No." Amy resisted, but I could see her resolve crumbling. Joey squeezed her hand, worry all over her face.

"Oh, are you two a couple?" the girl named Silena said. "You're really cute together." Amy gave her a fake smile, but it was obvious she appreciated the remark.

"What about my friends?" Amy said. She looked really, really torn. Her mother and knowledge of the secrets we'd been dying to find out since Percy first appeared in our lives, the same people who let slip that we weren't really their friends, or the real friends."

"Well, the boy, Joey…" Demeter looked him over critically, but her eyes softened. "I'm pretty sure he's one of a minor."

"My parents weren't minors!" Joey said indignantly. "They were both of age." Annabeth stared at Amy and Joey like she'd never seen them before.

"Two…" she whispered.

"The other boy, Mark…" she paused. "Isn't a clear-sighted, but the other girl, Laura, seems to be the case. "I can't tell about him. But he resists the Mist." Annabeth frowned.

"Your friends could probably follow," Demeter said. Demeter, like the Greek goddess? An odd name for a girl. Though, Percy's name was actually Perseus, so… "but maybe not."

"I don't…" Amy said. "I need to go." She'd grabbed Laura's and my hands and started to run, dragging us behind her, picnic and blanket forgotten for the time being, and my face burned as I felt the heat of all their gazes behind us- especially Percy's and Annabeth's. Amy, however, didn't stop until we'd reached not hers but Annabeth's house- the same old pale blue with white trim and the Victorian windows that had always been charming. The same house we had visited the past few days, hopeful for at least a glimpse of Annabeth. She knocked on the door, the rest of us confused. This was _Annabeth's_ house. Not hers, or Laura's, or Joey's or mine. _Annabeth's,_ the same Annabeth that we'd all rejected and fought with half an hour prior. Why did Amy want to go to her house? It wasn't like Annabeth was there.

Mr. Chase opened the door, looking confused, I saw Helen/Mrs. Chase, Annabeth's stepmom, behind him looking confused.

"Amy, Joey, Laura, Mark…Annabeth will be home sometime soon, her flight came in the afternoon." He informed us bemusedly.

"We know." Amy said tensely. "We saw her just now." He looked very confused now and tilted his head at Amy before speaking again.

"So?" he prompted. Amy paused and looked at us before speaking.

"Can we speak in private?" he nodded, surprised, as Helen moved off to the kitchen and we went to his study- a cramped, messy room full of airplane models.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No…not wrong exactly." Amy answered before going on. "Annabeth and the rest of us had a, um, fight, because she didn't tell us she was leaving for New York and she didn't tell us she was coming back. One of us, um, said that we weren't her real friends and she didn't deny it and it escalated from there." She spoke before he could answer. "I've never had a mother, just my dad, and about five minutes after we left them, they came back with a woman who claimed to be my mother, calling herself Demeter." He paled. "I wondered…if you knew about what they do up in New York and why they knew her." He was looking at us for so long I started to get a little scared, before he spoke at last.

"I'll tell you a little about it."

**That's a wrap! My updates might be a little slow for the next weeks, online school just started and it has ruined my routine. **


	22. Information

**Here I am again, with another chapter! Updates should be more regular now.**

**Just for a refresher: the setting is in January, right now, in between TBOL and TLO. Percy is living in New York at the moment, waiting for Luke's ship to come, but he is visiting San Francisco with Silena, Beckendorf, Grover, Tyson, Connor, Travis, Nico, and Annabeth who is coming back for school in San Francisco. However, Annabeth and the others had a big fight where Annabeth was accused of not really being friends with them and Annabeth agreed to this so now they are mad, Amy's 'mother', who is named Demeter, tried to get her to go with them but she refused, and now Amy is asking Mr. Chase if he can tell them anything about why Percy and Annabeth act the way they do.**

**JoeBob- I don't mind dealing with you twice as much! I've already been screwed by Apollo with online band class. I thought that Mark thing was funny as well.**

**100 REVIEWS! Thank you all so much! Even though, I'm pretty sure at least 25% came from JoeBob. That's not bad though!**

**Mark's POV:**

"Okay. I'll tell you…something." Mr. Chase sighed, resigned, but the rest of us sat up a lot straighter. Something was better than nothing. Amy's eyes were still angry but she looked hopeful this time, and I could tell Joey and Laura were interested.

"Percy and Annabeth…they aren't supposed to be here, in San Francisco, with us." He looked tired, but he didn't sound bitter. "Camp Half-Blood is Annabeth's home. She found it with Thalia…and Luke…when she ran away because we weren't treating her right, and she was right to do it. She found the place she's meant to be. Annabeth grew up with those people…they're her real family, and maybe she lives with us, maybe she goes to school in the neighborhood we moved to because of my job…but, sooner or later, she's going to go back. She always goes back. She'll go to NYU, or something close to there, for college, she'll live in New York and raise her family there. And it isn't fair to Annabeth because she's just being her."

"What does that have to do with-" Amy blurted, then shrank into herself embarrassedly- something quite unlike her, though today had been a really strange day for us all.

"Wait. What I'm saying is, Annabeth and Percy's world isn't ours, and…for most people, it never will be. Demeter, you said?" his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Amy nodded disgustedly.

"Sadly. I'd prefer to know nothing about her." Mr. Chase shrugged, and stared at her like he'd never seen her before.

"Hmm. Was there anything else you wanted to ask?" Amy stared, but nodded.

"Why do they hide everything? Did spending most of a year with us mean nothing?"

"No. It meant something to her, Annabeth. But she hides almost everything, including feelings, when she's here. San Francisco gives her bad memories now. From the winter from last year." Last winter was a topic Annabeth never liked to discuss with us, and I knew from conversations I'd heard that it hadn't been a good winter. But I didn't know why. "She hides everything because that's just her nature, and it goes along with…with her. Her camp is very, well, it's exclusive, I don't know much about it myself. But I know why she goes there, and it's good for her. It's safe, you see. For Annabeth."

"Is a serial killer after her or something?" he chuckled.

"You could say that. Spending almost a year with you guys meant a lot to Annabeth. It gave her a glimpse of…a…normal life, you could say. But she doesn't have a normal life and she doesn't really ever have…normal friends."

"Ok…thanks, Mr. Chase. We'll go." Amy said. We went out quickly, not wanting to be here when Annabeth came home.

We still ran into her and her band of real friends at the end of the street where Joey's house was- Laura and I with our heads turned away and eyes averted as Amy tried to give Joey a good-night kiss- it was around five P.M. and she didn't get to see him till tomorrow, and they were almost three months dating.

Unfortunately, the way Laura and I were standing, we got the first view of Annabeth and her gang.

Laura stiffened, while I just watched them and tried not to care. Joey and Amy were oblivious, and I strongly suspected they had begun to make out instead of exchanging their kiss goodnight, though we just stood there. The girl with the silver crown, Thalia, made a slight gagging sound while the girl named Silena squealed quietly, though it was enough for Joey and Amy to break apart.

Awkward.

Laura cleared her throat. "Bye, Joey…Mark. Amy and I are…walking down the street to our houses." Annabeth was silent.

"Bye, Laura, Joey, Amy, Annabeth, Annabeth's friends. Percy." From the look on Percy's face, I guessed he wondered why I chose to say his name last.

He didn't say anything, none of them did.

Annabeth's return to school that Thursday was awkward. We had gotten new schedules Monday, and she didn't know so she went to our Greek class even though she had Greek next period and missed her study hall. She was in the lunchroom first and we pointedly sat a table away. She stared at us a little, clearly uncomfortable sitting alone, before Tara and Jayden joined her and they started talking about people both of them knew that didn't go here.

"Yeah, Silena said she misses you, along with the rest of the cabin…you know, except Drew and her followers." Silena, wasn't she the girl Annabeth was hanging out with, along with the others?

"Yeah, that make sense…she always hated me, because, you know, I don't dress like a Barbie and I don't follow her rule of the 'Rite of Passage' like Silena."

"Drew can be really stuck-up. It's one of the things that marks her as one of the worse ones, no offense intended."

"None taken." Tara assured her.

"I'm going to go study in the library. I need to look up…something." The excuse was lame, but Annabeth moved to get up anyway, and Tara was silent. Laura watched as she went but didn't say anything.

"You think she'll apologize?" Joey said slowly. "Annabeth, I mean?" Laura snorted.

"Annabeth is deadly prideful. And I am not getting down on my knees pleading for her to forgive me, if that's what you want. You do it. Get in the good books with Annabeth and her friends. They will want you, I'm sure. You saw the way that black-haired girl was squealing over you." He scrunched up his face, biting his lip.

"No thank you. And, if they want anyone, it's Amy." The chestnut-haired girl scowled at her boyfriend.

"I've already said no to them like a million times and turned away my own mother. I think I'm just going to stay here before I ruin anything else." Amy said coolly. "Besides, Annabeth is in my new English class. We were seated next to each other, and neither of us said a word. We aren't exactly on the best of terms after my rejection. Though, of course, we have gym together again I think, that'll be fun."

Amy didn't make it sound like she was having fun. She wasn't, though.

I didn't hear her until it was too late to get away nicely.

I was sitting on a little bridge over a river, dangling my feet over the water and watching ducks swim around in it. There were a few birds chirping and calling and the stream was bubbling, masking her footsteps, but you couldn't conceal the smell of lemons. I turned around, but she wasn't there, but I'd sensed her for just a moment, and if it wasn't really Annabeth Chase it was something a lot like her.

"Hey." I didn't turn this time, because that was her voice speaking to me and that meant she was there, which meant I was talking to Annabeth Chase, and that last time I spoke to her I'd told her I was wrong about her after all.

I'd come to terms with the fact that I was 99.6 percent sure I liked Laura now.

"Hey." I still didn't speak, but I could see her reflection faintly above me from the water. She was wearing a New York Yankees cap, and the reflection shimmered faintly in the water. **Don't ask me why. In here, Annabeth can turn the powers of her New York Yankees cap off and on. **Her blond hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and her gray eyes were like the San Francisco fog. Her real friends had probably flown back to New York by now. Percy, too.

"Mark." I still didn't look at her, still staring down into the water. I did a double take for a moment, as in the water I saw the faintest features of a woman- misty and shining in the water, with cheekbones and hair made of tendrils of water. She gave me a wink and a smile, but the mirage I was seeing, **who may or may not be a naiad :p,** sank back into the water. Annabeth smirked faintly, and I got the feeling she'd seen the exact thing.

"Look at me." _I am looking at you, Annabeth. I wish I wasn't. Can't you see it's already done? We've both said too much._ "Mark?" I could tell she was getting impatient. "Look. I know you're angry with me-" _Snort._ "-really. I know how it feels to be angry at people. And I know you thought we were, like, best friends." I saw her pause for a moment. "And, we were friends." _We were friends._

_We were friends. We were friends. We were friends. _It repeated in my head like a mantra. Were was the operative word, though I was the one that broke it off. That sounded like we were dating. No.

"We were friends. And I know you guys think we weren't really friends…but it was nice." Her gray eyes were like mist and her expression wistful and strangely brittle. Like the dreaming in her eyes had already shattered into a million pieces once and she knew it was going to happen again.

"You aren't going to say anything?" the silence had been comfortable. She'd ruined it then and it wasn't coming back. Her eyes had gone sharp and hard like flint, the moment of vulnerability that I'd witnessed a few seconds before had evaporated and Annabeth was watching me again. I bit my lip as Annabeth's question hung in the air, because if I did, Laura would probably flay me alive out of pure anger and outrage. _Traitor Mark! You shouldn't be on _her_ side! You're supposed to be my friend. Joey's friend. Amy's._

"Mark?" I think she'd realized that I was watching her in the reflection of the pool, because she was giving me puppy eyes and she'd used to do that a lot, back when we were little.

We were only six, and I didn't want to be the big evil dragon. I wanted to be (go on, have your laughs), the princess. Annabeth, of course, wasn't going to have that because, as she'd pointed out, 'I have beautiful golden hair like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel and you think you should be a princess instead of me?', and then I'd pout and be silent for a few minutes and then she'd look at me and say, 'Mark?' with those gray eyes in the puppy dog expression and I'd cave and say, 'fine, I'll be the big stupid evil green dragon' and her face would light up.

I muttered something intelligibly. Her face brightened. "What was that?"

"I know what you're doing." I grumbled. She smirked.

"What I'm doing? Whatever do you mean? I'm doing nothing!" she was still giving me the eyes and, unfortunately, I caved again.

"Fine. I'll talk to you. But on one condition." She waited.

"You tell us the truth."

**Jeez. I started writing this on TUESDAY. And now it's Friday night. I feel bad so I'm probably going to post more often, by the way.**

**Thanks again for 100 reviews and 35K views! Though, you should review more. I love reading them.**


	23. Laura Gives Me The Cold Shoulder

**Hello there! I feel bad about my hiatus and my brother spends too much time on the computer anyway, so I'm just going to write a bunch of chapters to make up for it! Plus, it will annoy my brother…that's a bonus…**

**36K views!**

**Mark's POV:**

"You know I can't do that." I was actually looking at her now, and she was staring back at me impassively.

"I don't know anything, Annabeth! That's the problem. I don't know why you keep secrets from us, or why you supposedly can't tell us anything. For all I know, you really could tell us but instead you're choosing not to." Her eyes flashed but I kept going. "And I don't know what to think."

"Can't you just talk to me without some sort of crazy price?" Annabeth asked, and I wondered. Laura would already kill me if she'd found out I'd even talked to Annabeth Chase. It wasn't like she could kill me even more if I talked to her about our friendship. Well, she could mangle my body…or hide it so I was named missing.

"Fine." Her face didn't even move. That was part of the reason she'd seemed like we weren't really her friends. She'd laugh sometimes, but for the most part, Annabeth's face was impassive and poker-faced, but when she was talking to those people, Silena and Thalia and Grover and whatever…her face had lit up. Annabeth had laughed, and playfully slapped, and done…human things. Instead of being stone-faced and cold like she seemed to be with us.

"What do you want to do from here, anyway?" she was silent. "Try again?" the fog was rolling in and mist soaked through my shirt and I shivered, though Annabeth seemed unaffected. New York was colder, anyway. And she'd just come from New York.

"Maybe." The note in her voice was wistful, as if she knew it couldn't happen but wasn't afraid to keep dreaming, keep hoping. "We can see."

And we talked. It was comfortable, easy, the way it used to be when it was just Annabeth and I and Percy wasn't yet in the picture.

"Are we ever going to get a true professor for Greek? They're all…really young."

"And all really experienced." Annabeth reminded me as if she knew each of their degrees by memory. It wouldn't have surprised me.

"I dunno. That Ms. La Rue one wasn't the nicest." Annabeth laughed, a tinkling, happy laugh.

"Clarisse never is."

"You know her?"

"I wish I didn't." Annabeth winced.

"You don't like her very much?"

"She's a camp counselor. Clarisse also has the slightly cruel habit of flushing kids' heads down the toilets when they first arrive at Camp."

"Ah. Did she ever try that with you when you first went to camp? Weren't you, like, seven?" Annabeth smiled at the memory with a faraway look in her silvery gray eyes.

"Yeah. She didn't try it with me, but when Percy first came to camp, I was assigned the task of showing him around, and Clarisse struck. She tried to get Percy's head down the toilet but there was a freak accident with the toilets and we all got covered in toilet water. It was really, really gross and Clarisse has a personal vendetta against Percy nowadays because of it. She says she's going to get her revenge on him someday, that she's just planning things right now even though it's been years and he can withstand Clarisse by now."

"That doesn't bode well for Percy." I said, concerned, but Annabeth shook her head lightly, a soft gesture.

"I don't think so. They've got a…sort of mutual respect for each other now, apparently when Percy first went to New York he and Clarisse had a run in or something and gained some sort of understanding. I don't understand it though. Clarisse is prickly on the best of days."

"Do you like New York better?"

"It's my home." Annabeth said quietly. "Both of us grew up there, but I stayed there for years…even if my time was almost always at camp. So it's not really New York I like better but camp. And New York has a lot of good architecture opportunities. I'll probably go to NYU or something near New York when I go to college."

And then a strange question.

"Do you ever see…strange…things? That follow you or just watch you?" Annabeth wasn't looking at me, her eyes were on the water, which was beginning to shine with orange as the sun came down. I looked at her but she didn't look up, and she seemed focused on the rippling pattern of the surface of the water- even when there was no pattern.

It was an odd question, definitely. Why would she want to know if I could see weird things that were stalking me? The only strange thing I'd seen was that face in the water that I'd imagined. The mirage of a girl staring up at me before sinking back in was the only thing I'd seen that was out of the ordinary. An odd hissing sound startled me. Annabeth had her glowing glowstick with her again.

"Why do you carry it around? The glowstick? And no, I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary." Annabeth looked surprised and kind of sad.

"I just like the light." Her answer was simple and she stood up. "I'll see you at school tomorrow." She moved away, and I could've sworn I saw the girl again, laughing at me.

"Hey, guys." I said nervously. After the conversation with Annabeth yesterday, we'd established our friendship again, and I'd told her to meet us by the regular lunch table. I'd been the first to lunch today. They sat down next to me, unsuspicious. "Amy, Joey, can I talk to you?" Laura was oblivious and I whispered to them.

"I sort of, um, made up with Annabeth." Their eyes widened and I hurried on. "Don't be mad. She's coming to have lunch with us soon…and…"

"It's fine. It's just Laura you'll have to watch out for," Amy said, Joey nodding in agreement. "We understand, and we missed Annabeth too. Not to mention she was, like, your best friend before we met Percy." I smiled. "How are we going to stop Laura from…killing you?"

"I don't know." I said, unnerved. I'd already known Laura would be very angry at me for even talking to Annabeth. "What do you guys think? Do I act like Annabeth just joined us and hope Annabeth doesn't call me out on it? Do I explain outright?" They shrugged.

"Just go with it, here she comes." Laura looked up and tensed, Annabeth locked eyes with me and noticed that she was going to murder me if I said anything, and paused, before walking toward our table confidently. Totally oblivious to the fact that we might have to fend off Laura from her.

I mouthed to her, _'meet us outside'._ Annabeth got the message and walked right past us but caught Laura's eye.

"She's meeting us outside." I told Amy and Joey. They nodded, quiet.

I tensed when I saw Annabeth walk towards us in the San Francisco sun. She was wearing her jeans and a bright orange T-shirt reading, 'Camp Half-Blood, Long Island Sound' with a picture of a Pegasus. Her Camp.

"Hi." She said. The word died away in the wind that was whipping her long golden hair and I felt Laura getting ready to hiss at her to go away.

"Wait!" I told her. "I invited Annabeth here." She stared at me with something like betrayal. "Hear me out. I know Annabeth said some bad things-" Laura snorted derisively- "but I think all of us did. And I know that you're hurt, and I'm sure deep down somewhere Annabeth is too, but can you just…give it another chance?"

"And you guys are willing to go through with this?" she stared at Joey and Amy, who shrugged. "Did you all plan this."

"It was Mark," Joey said quickly.

"I'll give her a chance." Laura said.

"Laura, that's great-" I faltered as Laura gave me an ice cold glare, her blue eyes like frost- cold and without the playful happiness of snow.

"Did you guys hear anything just now?" she seemed to be looking right through me at Amy, who gulped at me as I turned and gave Amy an incredulous look.

"No?" Laura nodded, satisfied, before walking away.

"Good."

"What just happened?" I asked, as Amy gave me a look.

"She's ignoring you, mate," Joey said. "She's really hung up about Annabeth. Speaking of, glad to have you back. But I have an idea."

"Where are you taking me?" Annabeth said. We'd taken her out of her house at about three P.M. this Saturday. Laura was being taken by Amy and Joey and I were walking Annabeth, blindfolded, to our destination.

"Surprise, Annabeth."

Amy and Laura were there already.

"I need a room for two people." We ushered Annabeth in first, and then Laura, taking off their blindfolds, before closing the door.

"An hour long escape room. Just the two of them. Watch the camera." Amy said as Laura glared at her and Annabeth asked a question.

Slowly, the two girls started working together, and just talking. Thanks to Annabeth's trap-solving skill, they escaped with about two minutes to go, and it was easy to see the friendship had mended at least a little while they'd been in there- Laura wasn't glaring, Annabeth as at ease as ever. The past week hadn't been the nicest. Laura had ignored me sitting next to her, and across from her, and next to Joey and Amy and most often Annabeth. Joey and Amy had accepted and welcomed her again but Laura was stubborn and prideful and like a diluted Annabeth, with less vibrancy in her hair and eyes and less stubbornness and deadly pride.

It was nice, though. I was glad that she wasn't too much like Annabeth, because Annabeth could be impossible sometimes and while Laura had been impossible, it had also been kind of endearing that she cared so much about her opinion of Annabeth. And annoying. Hard to say.

"How'd it go?" Amy asked easily, like we hadn't just been watching them exit the escape room a few seconds prior. We started walking toward the exit as Annabeth offered us a smile. "Did you guys solve it? It was Arctic-themed, right?" Laura nodded.

"I know what you tried to do," Laura grumbled as we walked outside into the cool air, breathing in deeply, "and it succeeded." A smile bloomed on Amy's face, and she smiled like a cat that had caught the canary. The very, very important canary.

"I don't forgive you." She told me. She walked away again, and for the second time this week, I said:

"What just happened?" Amy gave me a sympathetic look.

"She needs time. She felt like you betrayed her when you went and talked and became friends with Annabeth again," Amy said, "and she was really upset about it because even though Joey and I were on board with it, Laura had been the angriest when Annabeth left us at Christmas Break."

"Said Annabeth is still here you know," Annabeth said dryly, Joey chuckling but it died down when Amy and I stared at him, and then at Annabeth, cold as ever. She had really perfected the art of the poker face.

"We know." Amy said lightly, and we continued walking home, Laura long gone by this time.

Slowly, our group fell back into the pattern we'd had when we knew of no Percy Jackson who lived in New York, when as far as we knew, we were Annabeth's best friends. Laura was still a little distant to me but it slowly thawed as we approached February, where all of us were nervous. School was having a big dance, and obviously, Joey and Amy would be going. Annabeth, well, a lot of guys wanted to take her but she declined each and every one.

"Hey, Laura?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you, um, want to go to the dance with me? Like, as friends?" I could've sworn there was some sort of disappointment there but I shrugged it off, Amy and Annabeth giving me knowing looks that made me confused.

"Yeah…yeah, of course."

"Annabeth? Who are you going to go with?" there was some sort of sadness in her eyes then, but she shook her head.

"If I go, I'm not going with anyone. You guys are all going to the _Valentine's Dance_ with each other. Should Amy, Joey and I be expecting another couple?" she raised an eyebrow wickedly and Laura and I started sputtering and blushing.

"O- of course not! Where would you get that idea?"

"The fact that both of you are blushing." Annabeth said knowingly. "Amy, back me up, will ya?" Amy's eyes sparkled.

"Definitely. You guys are blushing like crazy and sputtering and looking everywhere but each other. Friends my foot."

"Guys, no!" I protested. "We're just friends." Amy zeroed in on Laura in a flash and so did Annabeth, though I hadn't seen anything.

"Laura, Annabeth? Can you talk to me in the bathroom for a moment?" It was during lunch. Joey stared at me.

"Yeesh, man. At the dance, she'll probably hook up with some guy and you'll just be there realizing your feelings and staring sadly after her."

"Never going to happen!"

"Really? We'll see, Mark. We'll see. And when you do, you owe me twenty bucks."

"I never agreed to that!"

**So there's that! I was so bored and annoyed because of quarantine and my brother so I made this big whole plan for the next few chapters! Now I have to go write my story request…yay…**

**I actually wrote this on Saturday a day before I posted it because I already had a bunch of weird chapter stuff today I don't want to repeat the weird 'not in the archive' thing it did.**


	24. Laura Cheats On Me (we're just friends)

**Hey there! Chapter 24! I'm so bored so I'm just writing a bunch of fanfiction when I should be working on my story request. It goes up every Monday anyways, I have time.**

**HoO Storys: thank you for the…interesting…review.**

**JoeBob: I don't think Annabeth ever wanted to be a princess but then there's the population of American six-year-old girls I'm going by, or at least, the only six year old girls I knew. One stole my lunch box because it may or may not have had Disney princesses on it. Oh well, I got it back three weeks later. We'll have to see if Mark and Laura get together…well, actually, the answer to that is in this chapter!**

**Callum Runchman, in the fifth chapter, Percy says, _'it's not like I've bathed in the River Styx'_, meaning that he hasn't and is telling Annabeth that he can still be hurt. He is not saying that he has bathed in the River Styx, my timeline is not 'extremely inaccurate'.**

**Mark's POV:**

"Come _on,_ Mark." Laura smiled impishly, looking breathtaking. She'd become like every other popular girl in the school today, giggly and obsessed the the dance. I wasn't complaining, but still…why? Why did every single girl, including Amy, have to get so…excited…about a simple dance? Annabeth was the only exception, and she wasn't even going with anyone. Maybe it was that simple fact- she was free of attachments, and free of any possible relationships or pressure.

Laura was wearing a black dress, which was long, thank goodness, and was wearing one-inch heels. I wasn't sure how she was walking next to me as we joined Amy and Joey in the front of the school. Annabeth was there as well, wearing her beautiful gray dress and looking not at all like the fifth wheel of the night, and not seeming to care. She was faraway, I already knew she hated dances for some reason she hadn't told me, from a dance now a year ago.

Annabeth's phone beeped- apparently, she had a phone, just didn't often use it, which none of us really understood. Social media and all that. She just didn't seem to care about any of it.

"Hi- Percy, it's Valentine's Day. Shouldn't you be at your school's dance? With Rachel Elizabeth Dare?" I caught the hint of jealousy in her voice and Amy and Laura were watching her carefully, like they knew something we didn't. They always said we were thickheaded- the boys.

"Yes, I know you want to wish me a happy Valentine's day. Wait, what?" Annabeth's mouth was half-open. I'll be right there." She hung up, glancing back at us half-heartedly.

"Sorry, guys…I have to go." It was apologetic but her eyes were shining, and the four of us were staring at her like she was an alien creature from Mars- or better yet, Venus.

"What? Why?"

"Percy's here," she said with no trace of guilt. She wasn't lying, I studied her face, and it was really, really happy, and she hadn't seen Percy Jackson for weeks, about a month.

"We'll all go-" I started to say, but Annabeth shook her head, effectively cutting me off and smiling like she'd won the lottery. The Percy Jackson lottery.

"Sorry- he's taking me somewhere for Valentine's." the meaning of this was not lost on any of us, and Laura watched her and Amy smirked. Joey wiggled his eyebrows and I chuckled softly.

"Really? _Percy Jackson_ is taking you _somewhere_ for _Valentine's Day?_ Does that not sound to you suspiciously like a _date?" _Annabeth shook her head, smiling like she knew something we didn't. Maybe she did- Annabeth was notorious at school for being smarter than literally everyone else.

"No, it'll be fine, guys, okay? Enjoy the dance. Happy Valentine's Day." She hadn't worn heels and so she took off running in her silvery dress, her owl earrings dangling from her ears and the necklace with the beads that she wore all day, every day, flashing in the lamplight as she jogged back to her house at 6:00 P.M. on February 14th.

"Annabeth!" Amy called after her, sounding worried. She didn't seem to hear.

"Seriously? I mean, I can't be mad that she wants to go on a date with Percy Jackson, but still, seriously?" Laura stopped talking and her mouth opened the slightest bit, she nudged Amy, who looked at something behind us, and frowned at her angrily and started muttering to her darkly and I caught some hints of what she was saying to Laura.

"What are you doing? You're going with _him,_"

"He said we-"

"Oh, listen to yourself, will you? He-" Amy hissed and we walked towards the dance. "But fine, then. Ditch him and go find Mr. Hot." Laura looked ashamed for some reason and I had a feeling they were talking about me- ditching me. She'd already found me anyways. I felt a small inkling of jealousy, but really. We were just friends. That's what I'd said. That's what she had confirmed. Even if Joey and Amy were a little skeptical. It was us, not them. Not everyone could start dating on a holiday like they had, four months ago. Luckily for them, the relationship was going well and they hadn't majorly fought yet, because that would probably ruin the whole friendship group of ours if they were always glaring daggers at each other while talking.

We moved into the gym, which was blasting old-fashioned love songs like, 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police and 'The One I Love' by R.E.M. Laura seemed happy. Joey and Amy disappeared to go dance in the crowd while we stared awkwardly.

"Do you, uh- want to dance?" I asked after a moment. She smiled but it was kind of tense. Going to the Valentine's Dance with a girl you may or may not have a slight crush on was more nerve-wracking than I'd thought it would've been. We were just friends, anyway. Just friends. That was it.

"Sure." The dancing was kind of awkward, but we made it work for a song. After that, we split up, Laura disappearing into the crowd and me hanging around with Amy's and Laura's purses and other girly stuff.

**Annabeth's POV:**

"Hi." I greeted Percy, a little breathless from running, glad I'd been wearing tennis shoes instead of the ridiculous heels almost all of the schools' female population had been wearing. I didn't even own any heels. I was probably the only one who didn't, but I didn't care at all.

"Hey, Wise Girl." It had been a few weeks since we last saw each other in person, and Iris Messages weren't as good as real in person contact. "Want to go to New York?" I furrowed my eyebrows, but wasn't surprised when Mrs. O'Leary, Percy's hellhound, barked from the shadows and Percy raised an eyebrow winningly.

"You know it." I tried to ignore Amy's and Laura's words and the voice in my own mind that kept telling me it was Valentine's Day and that was a _romantic day_ and Percy wasn't at Goode's dance with Rachel, he was in San Francisco with me. I knew Rachel had her eye on him as well, no girl was stupid enough to not be interested in him. "Where exactly-"

I'd never be used to shadow travel- the jerk in your gut and the feeling of melting into the shadows. Mrs. O'Leary was, after all, a creature of the night. She was used to it, and Percy had only just done it earlier before he called me. I hadn't used shadow travel as much. We reappeared in front of Goode High. I remembered it from last August- when I'd been so ready to go to the movies with Percy- which wasn't a date- and then he'd jumped out the building's window and ran into me and I'd been happy- and then Rachel Elizabeth Dare ran out after him and- bye bye movies. Bye bye good mood. I took him straight to camp and left for Grover's trial to comfort Juniper and talk to Clarisse.

"Why are we here?" I asked him. He looked a little nervous but we walked inside.

"I thought we could go to my school's dance." I widened my eyes. That was…well, it was nice to know that I would be there to watch him interacting with Rachel Elizabeth Dare on Valentine's Day. As his…date. She'd have to back off then.

"Okay." I said. He smiled, a little nervously, but then, he was taking his best friend to a dance.

Goode's dance was pretty much the same- the same music with the bass so loud and deep that it thumped in your chest, the same suspicious punch and girls in heels so high and dresses so short it was ridiculous, the same couples pressed up against the walls right next to other couples so that it was really kind of gross. More than kind of. Really gross.

"So," he said. "are you and the others enemies now?" I laughed. I could see a bunch of jealous girls zeroing in on me but I wasn't afraid. I was fighting a war in August it was Valentine's Day and I was going to enjoy myself thoroughly.

"No, we made up. Speaking of friends and enemies…isn't that Rachel?" She was alone, her vibrant red frizzy curls straightened and tamed like I had done myself, her green eyes scanning the crowd. She smiled when she saw me, but it wasn't malevolent or jealous. It was an actual smile, and I was surprised.

"Yeah," Percy said, not really getting it. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason," I said, trying to make it seem like I really didn't care if I walked in on them in the gym with Rachel's tongue down Percy's throat or something like that. He was a fifteen-year-old male with testosterone. How could I not think that would happen?

"I believe, Miss Chase," Percy said, eyes twinkling playfully, "I owe you a dance." I laughed.

"You paid me back earlier," I said, referring to when he'd said almost the same thing at the Winter Solstice after Artemis and my rescue a full year ago.

"Do I really need an excuse to dance with you?" He whined, and I tried to ignore that I liked that part.

"I guess not," I said after a moment of consideration, laughing as he escorted me to the floor, unconscious of the eyes of the girls watching me and Percy dancing happily, but very, very aware of Rachel's eyes on me as well.

**Mark's POV:**

Where was Laura? I hadn't found her after she'd slipped away, and I tugged on Amy's sleeve. "Have you seen Laura?" she paused after a moment, and then started to say something wordlessly.

"She's, uh, she's over there, Mark. Just- how about I go over there first?" she hurried away before I could say anything else, and I looked at Joey, who looked just as confused as I was, and shrugged. Amy came back looking a little afraid. "I don't think you should go-" I'd already walked away and she stared after me silently.

I searched for Laura for a while, turning Amy's words over in my head. She wasn't anywhere in sight, though I did see a lot of other blond, blue-eyed girls over on the wall with equally blond, blue-eyed boys. Joey and Amy had probably had a lengthy amount of time over on that wall doing the same thing.

I found her on the opposite wall, though she wasn't with a blond, blue-eyed guy. In fact, she was with a black haired, brown-eyed guy instead. I turned away quickly, but I couldn't not see it, even though I really, really wanted to.

_My date to the dance is kissing some guy. My date to the dance is kissing some guy. My date, who I think I have a crush on, is kissing some guy on the wall over there. Laura, who I asked to go the Valentine's Dance, who I think I have a crush on, is pressed up against that wall with some guy's tongue down her throat._

I hurried away before they could see me, or I could see anything else. I moved back over to Joey and Amy, a little queasily.

"You saw them?" Amy asked. I nodded. She seemed apologetic but I didn't see why. It wasn't her who had gotten Laura to kiss that guy over there.

Speaking of Laura, she reappeared fifteen minutes later, when the dance was over.

"Hey guys!" she said breathily. "This is Jack!" they were holding hands. He was holding her hand…vice versa. Their lips were more than a little swollen. I could just see Mr. and Mrs. Hansen's faces.

"Hi guys." Annabeth seemed happy. She narrowed her eyes at _Jack._ "What's that?" she didn't like him at all. _What's that? Not who's that. What's that._

"This is Jack!" Laura said brightly, oblivious to me, looking like a kicked puppy. "He's my new boyfriend."

I choked.

**This was like the easiest chapter to write in a while. So I'm going to write some more! Well, I guess Mark isn't going to be able to date Laura any time soon- she's got **_**'Jack'**_** now. Oh, what a shame.**

**Stay safe and healthy!**


	25. We Try Again

**Hi! I should be writing my chapter for a story request but instead I'm writing more of this. Kind of sad but I like doing it. Speaking of requests, if there's anything anyone wants to see in this story just put it in a review or PM me and I will think about putting it in. **

**Thanks for catching that mistake from my 23****rd**** chapter, HoO Storys. And that review was…well…**

**Nobody: Percy and Annabeth shadow travel to Goode for the dance and then shadow travel back, using Mrs. O'Leary, that's how she's back again when Laura, Amy, Joey, Mark, and Jack are walking home.**

"Jack!" Laura squealed before catapulting herself at Jack. Yeah. That's right. They were _still_ dating. Almost a month later, with no sign of breaking up in sight. And, to make things worse, that meant he was now a part of our group- a permanent fixture, you could say. It was funny- before Percy, it had always been three girls and two guys, and Percy had completed it- Joey and Amy, Percy and Annabeth. Me and Laura. And then Percy left, and that meant there was one more guy needed and Percy was supposed to come back and complete it but Jack had taken his place. Laura and Jack. Not me.

I was pretty much the seventh wheel, because I knew that in a year or two Annabeth and Percy would come back from a summer hand in hand and kissing like Joey and Amy or Jack and Laura. And every feeling for Annabeth had melted after a while. So basically, I was the seventh wheel. It was no secret that Annabeth had gone out on Valentine's Day with Percy and ditched us at the dance, no secret that she'd come back really happy even though she swore nothing had happened.

"Where are we going again?" Amy asked.

"Golden Gate. The ice cream parlor. A restaurant. And hey, Laura?" Joey said. "Jack's not coming with us." Her face fell but he kept talking. "Remember? This is a Remembrance Day." I wasn't sure who came up with it- but it was going to be fun. We- the five of us- were going to hang out in the way we hadn't since Percy's arrival into our lives and visit our old haunts without Percy. The way it used to be, with no Jack, no Percy.

"I have to go," she said, before kissing him. I almost gagged. Maybe it was overdone, but still. Joey and Amy didn't used to give us- me and Laura- this much disgusting PDA. Of course, I'm sure Laura now thought it was really sweet when they kissed since she had her own special someone, but it was still really annoying when the other single person suddenly started kissing some guy that became her boyfriend and was suddenly causing twice as much PDA as Joey and Amy. Not that I was jealous or anything. It wasn't like Laura and I had been dating. We were just friends, we'd both agreed. I had no right to be disappointed.

I was anyway.

Amy shot me a look. She'd been giving me that- the same, same look- every time Jack and Laura kissed in front of me. It was getting really annoying. She wasn't looking at Joey or Annabeth. Always me!

Laura and Jack broke apart and he cheerfully bade us goodbye before we set out for McDonald's, to order chicken nuggets, burgers, fries, the works. And lots of ketchup packets. It was sort of an old tradition, having a picnic of McDonald's in Golden Gate Park, even though you could get McDonald's pretty much anytime, anywhere.

We picked a spot far away from where we'd seen Annabeth and her friends in January, because why would you want to dig up that horrible stuff when it's a day about remembering when everything was perfect?

"Hey," Joey said, "how's Percy doing, anyways?" Annabeth allowed herself a smile, her gray eyes lighting up like stars.

"He's doing good. He's actually getting good grades and he's training." I didn't know what training meant but I chose to let it go, waiting for Annabeth to keep talking. "It's nice to see him actually trying to get everything." None of us knew what that meant, when Percy was with us, he had Annabeth to keep him going. Now she wasn't by his side and we'd known he'd been kicked out and given detentions and things like that.

"What did you think of Mr. Mason?" he'd been very ADHD, our last Greek teacher, and while we'd taken a test on the Gorgons had somehow constructed a bronze airplane and flown it around the room and Annabeth had had this fond smile on her face like she was remembering the same things happening somewhere else.

"That airplane shouldn't have been possible. And where did he get that bronze? And the other stuff. It was like he had just pulled it out of his pocket or something, and, well. He didn't even have pockets, or any sort of tool in sight!" Amy said. She had taken a few Industrial Tech/Woodshop classes but hadn't gone on with it, preferring her music classes instead, even though she wasn't able to play the recorder in band or anything like that- it was a beginner instrument but she'd stuck with it past third grade.

Annabeth, meanwhile, just watched with that smug smile on her face like she knew everything we didn't and she probably did, she knew every single teacher we'd had and it was crazy and really, oddly realistic and so _Annabeth._

"It was probably in the desk. I don't know how he managed to put it together and make it fly, though. Reminds me of Hephaestus- the blacksmith god?" Joey still looked confused, and Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Joey, he's one of the Olympians. He's the god of fire, and blacksmiths, and he got thrown off a cliff by Hera when he was born. You don't remember?" she seemed personally affronted, as if she knew Hephaestus, a mythical god, personally, and I said so.

"I don't know him personally," Annabeth said, sounding offended, "but the stories I could tell…" she muttered under her breath, and all of us looked confused by her words- she didn't know him personally, but she could tell stories. Why was I even considering this? Hephaestus wasn't real. None of the Olympians were, and if Annabeth was a Hellenic Polytheist (a person who believes in Greek mythology and the Greek gods), then it wasn't really my business. I'd always assumed Annabeth was an aethiest, mostly because she'd never mentioned any beliefs or church or mosque or something like that, neither had her family, though they'd always seemed to believe _something._ Annabeth did know a lot about Greek mythology, so maybe she just remembered a lot of stories about Hephaestus. They were really easily remembered- Semele asking to see Zeus's true form so she burned to ash, Dionysus being sewn into Zeus's thigh to be a makeshift wound after her death. You can't easily forget that kind of story.

"What exactly do you mean?" Amy prompted, and Annabeth looked a little like a deer in headlights. "Do you worship the Greek gods or something? You do know a _lot_ of Greek mythology- you sometimes seem to know more than our teachers, like Mr. and Mr. Stoll." Annabeth smirked.

"Well, yes, I do believe that there is something out there and why not the Greek gods? And Travis and Connor- Mr. and Mr. Stoll- do know less than me, mostly because I taught them, but then they stole my stuff, so I quit tutoring them, but then they put a spider in my cabin, and that freaked all of us out, and then I had to go exact my revenge and basically we have a half-feud but I know more than them. Their stories also aren't always accurate because they turn them into tall tales instead of actual myths, and that's not the myths anymore."

"Okay." Amy said. "So you do or do not worship the Greek gods?" she was Christian, by the way. Not one of the overly psychotic ones **(sorry Christians)** but she was still Christian even though her dad wasn't for some reason she'd never really explained to us.

Annabeth looked up at the sky and appeared to mouth an apology to the white clouds. "Kind of? I'm not, like, burning incense for them or something but it really kind of depends." Amy appeared satisfied by her answer and the subject was dropped before we finished the picnic and went to the ice cream parlor, because we were fifteen-year-old kids with a sweet tooth in each of us.

Amy got strawberry, Joey and I chocolate (obviously), Laura and Annabeth vanilla. Joey and I complained about Annabeth's and Laura's flavor, or lack thereof, while they defended the bland flavor of ice cream. Amy said nothing at all, she wasn't eating vanilla but strawberry would be the next thing we targeted in our ice cream flavor discrimination. Not that we were biased. It's just- why would you eat strawberry or vanilla when you could eat rocky road or chocolate? The answer is obvious. You shouldn't.

"But it's just, like…sugar flavor." Joey said. "There's, like, no flavor to it at all, but then there's chocolate, and even strawberry is better." Annabeth and Laura rolled their eyes. "What? It's a fact. Strawberry, well, it's okay, chocolate is the best, vanilla is good when you put in the Neapolitan flavor but on its own it just tastes like granulated sugar without the grains."

"How do you even know what granulated sugar tastes like on its own?" Annabeth asked. Joey gaped at her.

"Have you never been a kid that, while your mom isn't looking, takes a spoon of sugar and eats it?" Annabeth's eyes turned stormy and I thought to myself, _uh oh. Joey's going to not be happy after this one._

"Joey, I think that you have forgotten that my mother isn't around, and so I have never been a kid that while my mother isn't looking, takes a spoon of sugar. I had Helen and she wasn't exactly a mother."

Joey apologized, but now Annabeth was dwelling on that, so the day had kind of taken a turn for the worse. It was still lighthearted, just a little darker on Annabeth's side. Amy had had the same, though she had never been that affected by the fact that her mother- hadn't her name been Demeter- wasn't at home. She'd seemed to wear it as a badge of honor, the fact that she and her father could get by just as well without a stay-at-home mom, even though most families had two or three kids and the mother at home to care for them. All of us were an only child, it was part of the reason we'd banded together in the first place- it's lonely.

"It's around four," Laura said, checking her watch, "where do you guys think we should go next?" I wondered about this. We'd already been to the park, now we were in the ice cream parlor, and we had about an hour left, and I didn't think any of us really wanted to hang out in an ice cream parlor for the next hour. Annabeth had an expression on her face like she was thinking, but for some reason I doubted she was thinking about what the rest of us were thinking- where to go in the next hour. She was probably still hung up on the Joey's words about her mother, and probably hurt. She'd told me she'd met her mother a few times, and I'd seen her once in the hallway at school, visiting Annabeth, though she'd never really seemed like a motherly figure, she was almost like one of those old maids.

"Maybe just go home," Amy said, "maybe we're trying too hard."

The rest of us agreed.


	26. Premonition

**Hi! Here's the twenty-sixth chapter. I can't believe it's already this long.**

**HoO Storys: Unfortunately, I will not just keep writing this, because I would mind and I would get bored, because I get bored of stories easily. It isn't going to end for a while but it will, I might write a few little one-shot specials after the end of it, though that isn't happening yet.**

**JoeBob: Plain sugar isn't that bad, it's just really sweet. Though, eating plain bread is not the best. They will eventually go to camp, just not yet, because it's March in the story and I'm going to wait for a summer. Jack is an okay boyfriend, Annabeth doesn't like him and Amy thinks that Laura should be dating Mark, but he's not bad. They are going to very mad when she leaves for the umpteenth time.**

**Guest: I actually like vanilla ice cream better. Don't be mad at me. Chocolate is still good though. My brother does the same thing to me that Joey and Mark did to Laura and Annabeth.**

**BluePancakes7: I will advance Amy's being a demigod sometime soon, and (spoiler) her friends will go to New York after the war, even though that won't happen for a few more chapters.**

**And finally the actually really important chapter 26:**

Mark's POV:

I should've known before she had to tell us, but I was blinded by the feeling of what it used to be like, and also resentment towards someone else. The lovely Jack. It had been a little over a month and the relationship had been kind of rocky sometimes but they were still moving along nicely, or so she said when she'd gushed over him all lunch two days ago. Hopefully, she wouldn't be seeing him as much during Spring Break, when she should've been hanging out with us, though I had a feeling that wouldn't happen.

But of course, Spring Break, as usual with all breaks, didn't go as we had planned. For one thing, Jack had appeared out of nowhere during Valentine's Day, and, for another, Annabeth's usual break was happening. Here's how it happened.

"I wish it was over already!" Laura said. "My Marine Sciences class has a field trip to the bay after Spring Break is over, and it's going to be so much fun." The rest of us chimed in with our own excitement about what was coming up after Break in school for us- all of us except Annabeth. She had this weird expression on her face and shifted uneasily on her couch, her backpack still on her shoulders. That in itself was odd.

"Hey, guys?" she asked. "Listen, for a moment. Before you start talking." A crease appeared in the middle of Amy's forehead, and Laura, who had been talking about a date with Jack, stopped at Annabeth's tone. "Um well, don't talk until I finish, okay? You'll probably be really mad at me- scratch that, you'll be SUPER mad at me, but listen." She took a deep breath and I saw her hands clench into fists for a fraction of a second, and Joey stared at her in concern.

"Is everything alright, Annabeth?"

"Yes. Well, no." she paused, deliberating. "That's not the point!"

"I'm going to New York for Spring Break. In, um, about two hours." She waited, and we took this as a sign we could speak, and our outbursts surged free and I could tell Annabeth wanted to cover her ears, but she was polite enough not to. At the end of it, Amy, who had accepted it the easiest, spoke again.

"Well, not that I'm happy about this, but I guess we should make the most of two hours. You did pack already, right?" Annabeth nodded hastily. "Good. You aren't that scatterbrained." A smile twitched on Annabeth's lips, Joey, who had taken it easier than Laura or I nodded as well, though Laura seemed annoyed again. None of us were super mad though. We weren't sure what that was about. "Where are you going, anyways? In New York?"

"Camp." Annabeth said simply. We probably looked really annoyed or something because she defended herself. "It's really fun in the springtime." Considering the fact that she went there as often as possible, it was probably 'really fun' all the time, and my face must have said so. "Oh, fine, it's really fun all the time, but still. I lived there for years." This part hadn't really come up.

"What?"

"I didn't say? Yeah, a lot of people live there, and I did for years." She sounded surprised that we thought this was odd, and she rolled her eyes. "It's not that odd, seriously." We weren't convinced, but she spoke again. "Hey. It was around this time that you guys met Percy," she said. We nodded. "Why don't we play that game we were playing when you guys first met him? Did You Know?"

"I'd be down." Joey said. "I can embarrass you all!" Amy laughed at his ridiculous pose (seriously, why did he even strike a pose?), reaching over and patting his head sympathetically.

"You wish." Joey pulled a face at her, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek, effectively killing his sad face. Now he had a sort of dopey grin on his face, which meant he was now in a sort of daze for a while, and Amy laughed at him again.

"Wow." Joey said sadly. "My own girlfriend doesn't even believe I'm capable of embarrassing you all." Laura and Annabeth said that they didn't think he was capable of embarrassing us all either, though I held my tongue. Joey had a knack for picking the right questions, and I didn't want to be a target of his. "Thank you, Mark. Someone believes in me!" I snorted.

"You should pursue a career in theatre. You could be like Joey Tribbiani." Joey looked confused for a moment and then brightened. "Though I'd hope you had better luck and didn't dance around singing weird songs in musicals." He raised his eyebrows, like, 'seriously?'. "Nobody's ever fully on your side, Joey. Get used to it."

"Hey!" he complained. "I should find better friends who are fully on my side." He muttered.

"You won't find any." Laura teased. "Now, are we going to play or what?"

"Laura." Amy was wearing a killer grin. "How much do you like Jack?" I tensed and leaned forward, the others doing the same as she stared around at us nervously. "Well? Answer the question. It isn't truth or dare." I wondered what we looked like leaning forward and staring at her, Annabeth's eyes were almost cold, and she was staring at Laura kind of like she was a science experiment.

"I like him a lot," she said. "But this isn't a girl's sleepover. We should have one-"

"No." Annabeth said immediately.

"I'd be down." Amy said after a moment just to smile at Annabeth with her killer grin. "Of course, after Spring Break." The smile was wiped off of Annabeth's face immediately, and she twisted her hands around her necklace with the beads. She'd come back from this summer with a new one, adding to the beads, and it was a picture of what looked like a maze, engraved into the clay bead, and she stood up to go to the bathroom.

"Mark." Joey stared at me creepily. Our games could get a little intense, intense meaning freaky. Amy's grin, Joey's stare. Laura and Annabeth were pretty much creepy all the time, though Annabeth won by a fair amount. Everything about her seemed hardwired for intimidation. "What are your feelings for Annabeth?" I could tell he'd thought he'd hit the jackpot, except that it had finally expired months ago. I smiled.

"They aren't there anymore." Joey's face went slack with astonishment- I'd harbored a crush on Annabeth when we were small children, and on previous games of Did You Know when Annabeth wasn't in San Francisco, the topic of the mysterious girl who had disappeared from New York for months had come up once or twice, and when she stepped into school on the start of September and I saw her eyes again I'm sure they'd probably thought I was kidding or just seeing things. It had been a stroke of pure luck that she had moved here, though she spent so much time away from San Francisco, and referred to Camp as her home, so maybe she hadn't really moved here at all. "I'm serious." Amy was giving me that knowing look again, and Laura looked really, really surprised. Was there regret in her expression? I couldn't tell, and whatever it was had disappeared from her blue eyes when I looked back in them again.

"Really?" Joey beckoned us all into a huddle. "Seriously? You've had a crush on Annabeth forever! Does that mean there's someone else?" I shook my head at him, amused.

"It's my turn to ask a question, Joey. Amy." She looked up from where she'd been studying Laura. "Do you imagine you and Joey staying together this year?" he looked up at this too. She nodded without hesitation, though there was a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. We were only fifteen. They'd had a long-lived first relationship, especially since we were still in high school.

"Hey, guys? I have to go to the airport. You can come see me off, if you'd like?" Annabeth's voice trailed off but we all nodded- she was our friend, we had to go see her go. We owed it to Annabeth Chase for all the things we'd done.

Annabeth's flight was leaving in two hours. Checking her in and getting in to see her off took a whole hour- at the start of Spring Break, many families and people were leaving and arriving for the holidays. The four of us (not including Annabeth) were mostly silent as Annabeth paced in front of the gate and about thirty minutes before she was leaving, Frederick, Bobby, Matthew and Helen arrived to see her go, her dad and the boys giving her awkward hugs, Helen lingering awkwardly. I'd known Annabeth hadn't had the best relationship with her, she'd talked about how Helen didn't really like her frequently when we were younger and even now she'd told us that their relationship was shaky at best- Helen accepted her, she'd said, the boys thought of her as an older sister, her dad was her dad, but for the most part she had a good family.

"Bye." She faced us awkwardly, hovering around the gate. "I'll see you. Maybe we can FaceTime?" Amy paused before nodding firmly and giving her a hug, the rest of us following suit as she stood uncertainly near.

"See you at school after break?" Annabeth winced, Mr. and Mrs. Chase looking at her like, 'you haven't told them?'. Whatever it was, she hadn't. We waited.

"Well, about that, please don't be mad, this was what I was talking about when I said super mad:" she took a breath. "I'm not coming back." Silence. Complete silence. Laura was staring, Joey had fallen down, Amy looked like a gasping fish, and I- I didn't know what to think. At least she'd told us something this time around. It was better than not knowing- wait. Was she-

"Like, ever?" Annabeth hastened to shake her head vigorously, sending a smile over to what I assumed was her father hovering in the background.

"No, no. I'm transferring to Goode with Percy for the end of the school year, and assuming we…well…assuming school goes as usual, we should be back in September." Annabeth said. "I'm really, really sorry but I didn't know how to tell you."

"Well- can we see you? At all, in person, before September?" Annabeth stilled, appearing to be doing quick thinking.

"Listen- here me out. If possible, if you can, watch the news about New York. Especially in August. And wait. If all seems calm after August 18th, wait for a sign. And come find me."

And with those words, Annabeth Chase boarded a plane to New York City, and the last thing we saw was a flash of her golden hair for our last glimpse for at least five months.

_If possible, if you can, watch the news about New York. Especially in August. And wait. If all seems calm after August 18__th__, wait for a sign. And come find me._


	27. She's Gone, but He's Gone Too

**Hello again!**

**JoeBob: It's Jack, actually. But Laura's not going to be too happy, even though Annabeth caved and said they could visit them in after August eighteenth. What is a flip exactly?**

**ThatGirlWithaCat: I've been updating every day for the past few days because of my INSANE amount of free time. Like, seriously, it's super boring.**

**HoO Storys: Yes, vanilla ice cream is the best!**

**Mark's POV:**

Annabeth had just boarded the plane, and the Chase family had left, and I was really, really conflicted. I didn't know why. I should've been happy. Annabeth had given us the go-ahead to visit her after August 18th. The thing that confused me was how she had said, 'if everything is calm'. New York had always been bustling, but it wasn't like there was a war there or something. I was confused by a lot of things- why Annabeth had decided to transfer to Percy's school and might not come back, why we had to wait for a sign and for some calmness in New York in order to visit them, why Laura was dating Jack- that's off topic. Anyways.

"So…_what just happened?"_ Joey asked.

"She said that if we could, to watch the news about New York, especially in August. And that if it was calm after August 18th, that we could come visit her if we received a sign," Amy said. "So…the news?" we were sitting in my room- the dark green covers and white pillow on my bed, a bookshelf on one side and my dresser on the other, but after a glance we moved down the hall and into my living room, taking seats on the sofa. Amy grabbed the remote and squinted at it. "How do I use this? It's, like…complicated." We didn't hang out much at my place, it had usually been Annabeth's, but now that she was gone in New York we were definitely not going to be there anymore, I had a feeling Mr. Chase, while liking us (I was pretty sure) wouldn't really want us, his daughter's friends, hanging around his house when the said daughter was actually in New York City- had been for about two hours- her flight to New York left hours ago.

There was nothing strange about news in New York City. It was pretty much the regular New York City stuff- some stuff about a bunch of missing pets let out by some hooligan, and, oddly enough, a general feeling of unrest. But besides that, it was pretty much like all news. Why would it need to be 'calm' after August 18th- Percy's birthday? Why did we have to wait past Percy's birthday? Why would it not be calm in New York City- or as calm as you could get in New York?

"There's nothing strange!" Laura said. "And New York is, like, the city that never sleeps, isn't it? How could it be calm? Isn't it obvious she's just playing another trick and leading us on with 'if it's calm', and 'wait for a sign' and 'watch the news'. New York is never calm. There _is never_ going to be a sign. It's _never_ going to be calm. The news doesn't tell you the truth! Which means that we are never going to go to New York and we are not going to see Annabeth for an indefinite amount of time."

Silence. And then-

_Riiiiing! Riiiiing!_

I jumped, and so did the others, and my phone was the one ringing. Laura's words had disheartened all of us, mostly because I knew all of us felt that there _was_ an element of truth to it. Annabeth and Percy had always been so, so unbelievably cagey about camp and us going there. It was 'selective', it was for people with 'issues', it wasn't for 'people like you guys', when they never told us what we were exactly. I knew all of us felt that Annabeth could have- maybe had- jumped at the chance to lead us on and give us a spark of hope and also a way to thwart us just as she was leaving for an indefinite period of time, and in so had told us to watch, listen, and wait, though we weren't sure what we were watching, listening, and waiting for.

"Hello?" there was no caller ID on there, it was an unknown number. "Who is this?" Amy, Joey, and Laura were watching me, the formers looking a little subdued, the latter kind of ashamed of herself but also angry- though this was not aimed at herself- that part was for Annabeth.

"Mark?" I stiffened. I recognized that voice. "This is your number, right?" I almost laughed at the nervousness in her tone, before replying.

"Annabeth?" The other three in my living room stared at me. "I'm putting you on speaker." Annabeth's slightly nervous laugh filled the room, and I relaxed slightly- she had a calming effect with her easiness and confidence- growing up at her 'camp' had obviously raised her quite differently than all other girls in San Francisco- though, most girls also weren't super super secretive about their previous life before you met them, most girls didn't disappear to New York City by plane every single holiday they got, and most girls weren't likely to judo flip every guy that asked him out (she did that once. It was terrifying). "I'm guessing you got to New York safely?" Laura was frozen, staring at my phone like it was a foreign creature.

Annabeth's laugh sounded again. "Yeah. Yeah, I did." There was a slight hesitation. "Do you want to talk to Percy?" I was about to say yes, but Laura burst through- she'd always been the quickest tempered out of all us, even Annabeth. Both of them defied the 'dumb blonde' stereotype, something all of us had been proud of Laura for.

"Wait a moment. We need to talk to you alone for a few minutes." Annabeth was quiet and there was a faint buzz of static over the phone line, and a hurried _'Malcolm, be quiet!'_.

"I thought you probably would." The sigh was quiet. "What's first?" we were kind of taken aback, but Laura jumped at the chance. "Is it the fact I'm not coming back? Or my promise?" _That was a promise?_

"The promise. I get that you probably want to be with Percy. But seriously. What are we supposed to watch for? What is the sign? What is calm?" Laura sounded pretty levelheaded but her blue eyes were blazing with fire, almost dangerously so. I wondered for a moment if she got this passionate for Jack and then gagged and, with effort, put it out of my mind.

"Well…watch for…well, riots. And storms in New York City- especially in the area around the Empire State Building."

We sat there in silence while she paused, and there was more talking in the background. _'-Against the rules, Annabeth, and as the counselor-" "I am the counselor, Malcolm!" "I'm going to be on for maybe ten more minutes. Just cover for me, Malcolm! We're siblings." "Mother wouldn't want you to break the rules." "Well, Malcolm…Mother isn't here."_ There was a bit of bitterness in the last one. "Sorry. I'm back. Cabin stuff. Um, well, look for the usual in New York City. The usual hustle and bustle and everything. A sign- just look for something that comes and reminds you of me- all of you have to be there, and it has to be something that seemingly comes out of nowhere- like a sign from God." Annabeth wasn't even Christian. What did she know? But we didn't say anything as she left again. _"Annabeth, this is unacceptable. What would Chiron think? Mr. D will turn you into a dolphin."_ _"If I get caught, I will explain, and Chiron will definitely understand this." "If you say so." "I say so."_

"You back?" there was static, Annabeth seemed to be walking, and there was a distant kind of chatter going on, and I caught snippets of something about Capture the Flag, and strawberry fields, and a Mr. D.

"Yeah. You want to talk to Percy?" her voice was really muted, and I guessed the phone was in her pocket- from what I'd heard earlier, it sounded like Annabeth wasn't supposed to be using the phone I didn't know she had, that it was unacceptable and against the rules according to a stuffy guy named Malcolm that also seemed to be Annabeth's brother. Which was odd, because I'd thought Annabeth was the only child of her mother, and it appeared not. There was another crackle of static and Annabeth cleared her throat: "I can't hear you guys cause the phone's in my pocket, they're sorta banned, but I won't get in trouble. You probably will want to see Percy, so I'll just go to his cabin, nobody's there anyway cause Tyson's with his dad right now." Tyson, hadn't that been the name of one of the guys who'd gone to San Francisco with Percy and Annabeth for their picnic in January? Apparently, he shared a cabin with Percy?

"Perce!" Annabeth called, her voice brighter now. "Are you in the bathroom?" there seemed to be a muffled reply, and Annabeth laughed at something that had been in there. "Don't tell anyone, but we're on speakerphone with Joey, Amy, Laura, and Mark."

"Sorry!" I heard Percy's voice this time, for the first time in months, since January, actually. We'd never gotten to see him after the date we were sure Percy and Annabeth had last Valentine's Day. "Hey guys." And after that, it all clicked back into place, and Percy replaced Jack easily, and it was really fun, and he was surprised when he heard about Laura's boyfriend and happy when the topic came to Joey's and Amy's six months on April 30th.

And it was all really happy.

"Hey." Laura's voice was crackly over the phone. "Can you come over? Please? Right now?"

"Okay." I felt uneasy at her tone, it didn't sound very good, and by the time I was at Laura's house Joey and Amy had already arrived, looking worried. Laura opened the door, her eyes bloodshot. Joey and Amy were sitting on the couch, looking shocked, and she wordlessly showed me her phone, which had opened up to Messages on her iPhone, which was open to the string of texts that had 'Jack' at the top.

_**Laura,**__ Jack_

_**Are you coming to pick me up? It's 6:45. You're late. (insert winky face emoji)**_

_Oh sorry I'm coming now_

_**You're always late. Maybe we can reschedule, it's getting late now**_

_You're always rescheduling, and now we never get to go on dates_

_**Because you're late**_

_And then you reschedule_

_I don't think we should be doing this anymore then_

_**WDYM**_

_**What are you talking about? We shouldn't be going on dates? You shouldn't be late and I shouldn't reschedule?**_

_Well, all of those. I think we should break up_

_Right now, or at least go on a break or something_

_**It's okay, I can drive myself to our dates, and you can just set up alerts.**_

_**We can make it work, we've dated for a month**_

_**Doesn't that mean something to you?**_

_That's why I think we should do it now, before it gets deeper_

_And I don't think I'd even remember to set up alerts for these_

_**Seriously? You want to break up with me via text messaging? **_

_**Are we really that kind of couple, so pathetic we can't break up in person?**_

_You're right_

_I'm coming over_

_Be there in 5_

Laura looked at me with her face, tear-stained.

"And then, he drove over and we sat on my bed and he- he broke up with me, he said it wasn't working, and that he didn't want to date me anymore, and then he gave me a hug and walked out of the house and drove away." Her voice broke and she buried her head in Amy's shoulder.

_They really did, they really broke up._


	28. Chronic Motion Sickness

**Hey! Sorry it's been a few days. This chapter was for some reason really hard to write.**

**Guest: I know that Annabeth has blond hair, but Annabeth's mother, Athena, has black hair. I was talking about her mother.**

**JoeBob: Yes, Jack is not the best. He wasn't a player but he wasn't a good boyfriend either.**

**Itsasecret-me only: thank you!**

**Guest: Shockingly enough, I do know it is Styx. Mark, however, is mortal, and he heard 'Sticks'.**

**Oh, by the way, before I forget, people who like Harry Potter and would like to join a roleplay forum that I am also in, copy and paste this into your search bar!**

** forum/Hogwarts-School-of-Witchcraft-and-Wizardry/227177/**

**Also, the time has skipped to August, because I don't want to go writing out MONTHS when really the next part of the plot happens in August.**

**Mark's POV:**

"_Odd storms are gathering in New York, seeming to center around the Empire State Building. Increased feelings of unease have been reported in the civilians. More on that in ten, on CNN news."_

I turned off the news and stared at my friends worriedly- it was funny that, right at the time Annabeth told us to watch out for, August, freakish storms started happening around the Empire State Building, there were odd feelings of unease, and so on. It was August twelfth- less than a week before the day Annabeth said would be the deciding factor in whether or not we would be able to visit.

Laura had gotten over Jack pretty easily, and luckily for myself she wasn't dating anyone as of now, though she had spent about two weeks in some sort of depression state that most often included crying, crying into Amy's shoulder, or just spending days locked up in her room whenever we came to visit, and then she would either ignore us or yell at us to go away.

After that, all of us had made it a point not to look or interact with Jack if he spoke to us, looked at us, or did anything that was linked to us. She'd gotten over him pretty quickly, but she'd still really liked him and she'd been really distraught when he broke it off. And he'd been a jerk. What kind of guy never shows up to pick up his amazing girlfriend for their date, and when she reschedules gets angry? It was him! It had never been Laura's fault that he'd been a deadbeat boyfriend.

"So, isn't it funny that right when Annabeth tells us to look out for stuff, the stuff we're looking out for appears?" Amy thinks for a moment, before looking back up at the now dark television screen and down at a piece of paper we've been tracking the news on. As the eighteenth of August gets closer more stuff starts happening and this is definitely a new thing happening- the storms. Apparently, the citizens of NY had been feelings uneasy for months, since March, actually.

"She knew about this," Amy says after a moment. "That it wouldn't be safe when she was in New York. That's why she told us to wait for it to be calmer or something. She was trying to protect us." Joey stared at her.

"You think Annabeth _knew_ bad things would be happening in New York, but she went to New York anyway?"

"I think…" Amy hesitated at this- "I think she's part of the bad things in New York, and that's why she went." Complete and total silence after that. As much as I didn't want to admit it, Amy's theory made sense. Annabeth had known what was going to happen, she'd even told us it would center around the Empire State Building. She'd said that it would be especially in August. And here it was, in August, just as Annabeth had predicted, as she'd known it would be. _What_ was it, though?

We'd also watched news about strange activity starting in Mount St. Helens and going eastward, towards New York, but nobody could find what it was, what had caused it, what it was trying to do.

"What? There's nothing." We'd tried to turn on the news- it was August 17th- but there was nothing. "How could there be nothing?" This is New York City- they call it the city that never sleeps. There can't be nothing on the news stations.

Amy called Annabeth's phone number, and it picked up on the first ring.

"Hello! Percy? Do you need backup or something? Hermes is doing well." that wasn't Annabeth's voice. It sounded mischievous. "That's not Percy's number, Travis, is it? What does it say on the caller ID? I can't tell in this place."

"No, Connor, dolt. That's Annabeth's phone we stole, remember? She's probably got Percy in contacts or something. This says Amy. Who are you, Amy?" this was said louder, and with Amy's phone on speaker, we stared at it like it was an alien. "Mr. and Mr. Stoll, at your service." The voices were in unison at this time, and I shuddered reflexively. Creepy.

Mr. and Mr. Stoll were old teachers of ours in Greek last year. They'd hung around for two days, been the 'fun' sort of teacher, before inevitably disappearing again, like every other teacher we had.

"Sorry- we're looking for Annabeth. She told us to watch New York news, and there's nothing-"

"Ah." A Stoll breathed out. "Well, that would be, because, um…" _"Travis, help me out here!"_ "Well, I don't know. Maybe there's been some kind of incident, because there's nobody in the street right now." A snicker sounded. _"Quiet, Travis, they don't know!"_

"Is- can we talk to Annabeth? Why did you take her phone? Is she with you guys?" the Stoll laughed nervously, before speaking to us again.

"She's not here right now, she's with Percy, I think? Or maybe with Malcolm and the others…I don't know. She's across the city, so you can't talk to her right now. Sorry." The guy didn't sound very sorry, but then again, Mr. and Mr. Stoll hadn't been the serious sort of teacher. They'd been about the fun and the games, that sort of thing. They didn't care about school rules, how to act. They'd almost seemed our age.

"Well, I'm just going to go-"

"_Connor, get off the gods-be-damned cell phone and help us with these monsters!"_

"_I'm coming, Chris!" _Connor sounded afraid. _Monsters?_

"Bye!" Connor hung up quickly, and Amy stared at her phone in a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Seriously?"

On August 18th, the news came back on. There'd been a mass blackout, apparently. Apparently, the top of the Empire State Building had been lit up bright blue, and there was a lot of confusion about what had caused the blackout. All over the world people had heard about New York City's blackout. We'd been able to call Annabeth later, but she'd been mysterious about the whole thing and we were still looking for Annabeth's 'sign.'

It happened on the twentieth. We were walking in Golden Gate Park, and the clouds were the same shade as Annabeth's eyes- that wasn't the sign, by the way. The actual sign was the piece of paper that flew in the breeze until Joey caught it- the remnants of a plane ticket, with 'Annabeth Chase' in blocky letters- dated back in March. It must have traveled for a while to get back here- it was soggy and damp and practically shreds of ruined paper.

Amy's jaw dropped, and the rest of us had barely seen it before it was blown out of Joey's hand again, heading toward the Bay.

"_We're going to New York!"_ Amy ran, dragging us behind her, all the way back to our house. We'd bought the tickets a few months ago, knowing we could refund them if need be.

"Come on, come on, come on! We need to pack and stuff, right? And, you know, go to the airport in a few days." Our flight had been booked for the twenty first of August, in a day. Luckily, we'd gotten home at about ten- we'd left at nine- and we helped each other pack and gave explanations to our parents, who'd already known we'd be going (were we really going to wait for a sign, no) and Laura, being the organized Annabeth-like person that Laura was, had created a checklist of the things we needed and how much of them we'd need was a godsend.

"Hey, Mark, did you pack your toothbrush?"

"Oh, right, thanks!" Laura smiled suddenly.

"We couldn't have you forgetting your toothbrush, could we?" she smiled and I thought for a moment it was kind of flirtatious but I must have imagined it, right? Why would Laura even try to flirt with me? We'd been friends, for years. It was definitely wrong that I had developed feelings for her- that's what I called them now. Feelings. Joey and Amy could tell, I knew already. They were always teasing me, and sometimes Laura, even though she was innocent.

The next day, I slept in till noon. I'd have to- our flight was leaving at midnight, and while I tried to sleep past noon, my nerves were filled with adrenaline. Apparently most of my friends had had the same problem, because as soon as I walked outside they were there- Joey looking like he'd probably been the last one there before me, Laura and Amy like they couldn't sleep a wink, which was understandable seeing as New York was a really big city, and we were supposed to find Annabeth in there- and with short notice. We'd tried to contact her the day before but Annabeth wasn't picking up her cell phone, she was always the one to call us, after all. Annabeth did things on her own time with little to no regard for anyone else's.

We were dropped off at the airport around eleven P.M. by our parents, who, while wanting to see us off, worked often and were tired, and left around eleven thirty. The four of us spent our time being warily watched by the flight attendants waiting to get onto the plane, and also making plans for what we'd be doing in New York. Amy wanted to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Joey wanted to see the Chrysler Building and I and Laura the Empire State Building. We'd be there for a week, and then fly back to San Francisco for sophomore year the following week.

"Flight to New York at midnight is boarding. Come to gate sixteen for the flight to New York at midnight." **Again as stated I don't know anything about the San Francisco airport. The only thing I remember vividly enough from my flight last August is the San Fran Psycho shop. Sorry, couldn't resist.**

"Come on!" Laura tugged on my arm excitedly as we were ushered toward the counter, where the woman approved our tickets before we were walking on the weird tunnel thing that brings you to the plane and getting to our seats- we were directly in the middle, which had four seats, one for each of us.

"So- we're going to New York." Laura told me. It wasn't a question- we were on the plane. It was already lifting off, there was no way we could turn back now. "Excited?"

"I guess." As the plane left the tarmac, I almost threw up. I'd forgotten my chronic motion sickness on planes.


	29. Back to New York

**Hi! I'm back, again. School is killing me slowly, and now I am suffering from allergies and it's not fun. Also, if any of you are interested in joining a PJO fanfic roleplay forum, copy and paste this link:**

** forum/Camp-Halfblood/225321/**

**You guys may have realized that I have put my other two stories on hiatus. I've been overwhelmed with a bunch of stuff, and so I'm just going one at a time, I'm going to try to finish Mortal Friendships first, though that won't be for a while, because I still have my reveal plan, and a bunch of other things.**

**Guests: Thank you so much! Percabeth: thanks, I appreciate it.**

**JoeBob: so glad you got an account but I'm still addressing you as JoeBob. I don't like writing out long usernames.**

I was throwing up in the bathroom fifteen minutes after we lifted off. It would've been longer except I wasn't able to leave. Which really sucked. They looked concerned, but Joey started laughing when he saw how green my face was getting, and I flipped him the bird before trudging off to the bathroom, which effectively shut him up. Luckily for myself, I was able to stay there, and, unfortunately, puke, for the next ten minutes, so I was saved from his wrath for a while. And, Joey was on Amy's side who was on Laura's who was on mine so he was all the way across from me. As I trudged out a flight attendant shot me a sympathetic look and I just frowned.

I pointedly ignored Joey, until he apologized after a few hours, and then we started playing 'Travel Scrabble'. Laura and Amy were the winners, and Joey was the biggest loser. He's also a sore loser, so that really wasn't fun to hear him whine, but then Amy started making out with him and he was left with this dazed look on his face.

"Jeez, you know how to shut him up," I told her, and she looked pleased. "Sadly it only works for you…and nobody else would do that. Gross." Amy stuck her tongue out at me in response, and for a moment it was like it used to be. Until my stomach rolled over and died. My gag reflex triggered and I closed my eyes, trying to sleep, and failing miserably. How could I when I felt like my guts were being stirred with a wooden spoon?

I did eventually sleep, though, something I counted a blessing. When I woke, we were _finally_ touching down on the ground once more, in what I'd seen from pictures as the JFK airport. I wasn't sick anymore, but my friends were looking at me in concern and I stared at the ground with longing.

"What?"

"I just realized, Mark, we forgot to book a hotel or something." I froze and stared at Amy. "Yeah, I know, we're so stupid, but…when we get wifi, I'm calling Annabeth. As soon as I can. She'll know what we can do."

We gathered our bags somberly, and then stood in the airport while Amy called Annabeth, who, surprisingly, picked up first ring sounding oddly cheery.

"Hi-"

"Annabeth, we're in New York. We don't have anywhere to go, we're at JFK." Amy cut her off, and Annabeth's side stilled oddly. "What do you want us to do? We saw a sign and everything. It's the twenty-first.

"Go to the apartment building in the Upper East Side. Ask for Sally Jackson. She'll help you. I'll meet you there in an hour, get there as soon as possible, Amy." Annabeth disconnected the call almost as soon as she'd said the words, and we did the only thing a teenager in New York would do- hailed a cab.

The apartment itself was hard to find, but luckily the doorman let us go up to Sally Jackson's apartment. She opened the door after we explained the situation, looking worried, almost oddly worried. Not many parents of your friend in New York would be this concerned. It was like Sally Jackson knew something we didn't, but I was so jet lagged most of everything was a blur. But Annabeth's arrival was in sharp clarity.

She burst through the door with Percy, hair messy and face sort of flushed, and stared at us like ghosts. "Guys!" she was starting to pant a little, but what I focused on was the two's intertwined hands. Annabeth's fingers clasped with Percy's as she ran inside and greeted Sally so warmly, they acted like two long time friends, even with the age difference and her being Percy's mother, not his…cousin or something.

"Hi, Mrs. Jackson, thank you so much for helping them." Annabeth was then pulled into a hug, and Percy gave us a sarcastic grin and a wave. He'd gotten a bit taller, and his hair was longer, and he seemed really happy.

"Annabeth, how many times have I told you to call me Sally?" she sounded exasperated. "And now that you're dating my son, you're like family." Annabeth flushed bright red and glanced at us and back at Percy.

"Ok, thanks…Sally." She beamed, right then, and Percy chose that moment to actually speak, he'd been quiet so far.

"Mom, you're more focused on Annabeth then me, and I'm your own son!" he whined, and Annabeth laughed. "You're supposed to love me." Amy was trying not to laugh at Percy's antics and Laura's mouth twitched for a moment.

"I do sweetie, more than Annabeth, but she winked at us and Annabeth and we had to try not to laugh, but Percy still looked at us with confusion written all over his face.

"What, guys? Why are you laughing at me?" I shook my head and Amy bit her lip. "Did I say something funny?" we seized the excuse and nodded hastily, letting our laughter loose, Annabeth and Percy's mother joining in, even though Percy looked clueless because he really hadn't said anything funny, and Annabeth bit her lip after a moment.

"Come on, we should go, I want to see something…" she shot a glance at Percy, her face unnaturally somber, before Percy schooled his expression into a serious one. "Come on, guys, bye, Sally. It was nice seeing you again."

"You too, Annabeth. Don't hesitate to visit if Percy gets annoying!" she laughed and shut the door, leaning against the wall, before turning to look at us with a steely look in her eyes.

"Why'd you guys come?" she glanced at Percy, and I was taken aback. She'd agreed that if we saw a sign, and it was calm, that we would be able to come see her and Percy in New York. Well, I was taken aback by a lot of things, she and Percy were obviously dating, she didn't want us in New York, et cetera. "I mean, not that I'm unhappy," she sure _looked_ unhappy, "but you didn't tell me you were coming, and without your parents?"

"Annabeth, you told us that if everything was calm after the eighteenth of August, and that if we saw a sign, then we'd be able to come to New York to see you guys. Remember?" this was _not_ what was supposed to happen, but I was pretty sure it wasn't going to get better from this point on. She shook her head, obviously thinking, but then her face went slack and she glanced at Percy and nodded and he gave her a look like, _are you crazy? What were you thinking? _and Annabeth just shook her head, like, 'go with it', and he nodded and squeezed their once-again intertwined fingers.

"Oh, yeah, about that…" Annabeth twisted her hair the way she does when she's nervous. I watched her for a moment before taking the chance to embarrass both of them.

"So you two are dating now?" she, as expected, blushed bright red and stared down at her hand clasped in Percy's, before nodding. "Ha ha. Amy, Joey, you owe Laura and I twenty bucks from each of you to each of us." Annabeth stared at us, and Percy looked confused, and then Annabeth turned bright red.

"You bet over us getting together?" she said, and the four of us realized that what I had said probably shouldn't have been said to a certain crazy blonde girl's face. Not that Annabeth's crazy, but she can get rather passionate when she's angry, and then the realization dawned on Percy's face, though he didn't really look that fazed- in fact, he in turn handed Laura and I twenty bucks, and Annabeth became outraged. "YOU bet on us getting together? You're ONE of the two of us!" Percy's face turned scared and I would've laughed.

"On a side note, Annabeth, I'm sixty bucks richer." Laura said. "That's good, right?" Annabeth shook her head, her blonde curls falling into her face.

"I guess it's good. Now, come on, I need to try something, Percy, come on, walk with me." She started whispering in his ear, and he stared at her like she was crazy again. It was becoming a common theme with Annabeth today- being looked at like she was crazy. Maybe she was, though, if Annabeth was crazy, she'd done a good job of hiding it.

We drove out of Manhattan. I looked at Annabeth. "There's just farmland here." Amy, Laura, and Joey looked at me like I was crazy. "The Delphi Strawberry Service." We were driving in Percy's stepdad's beat up blue Prius, which appeared to have hoof prints denting the top, but when we'd asked, we'd been given a vague answer.

"No, there isn't, Mark."

"Yes, there is." Annabeth looked almost disappointed, and she gave me a long look before turning back to kiss Percy on the cheek and pull away flushing. It was quite obvious they hadn't been dating long, apparently, the eighteenth was when it had happened. We drove past a beat up sign, to woodland.

Annabeth watched me for a moment before getting out of the car. "Guys, I need to ask you a really, really, really important question."

"What is it?"

"Well…"

She glanced at the woodland. "You see these woods?" We all nodded in unison, and she licked her lips a little nervously. "Well, Amy, can you go into them, just for a moment? Then Laura, Joey, Mark."

We did as asked, all going in out.

Annabeth buried her head in her hands and let loose a small noise that I thought was frustration. "This is bad."

**Sorry, kinda short, I've been suffering from writer's block…**


	30. A Little Fall

**Hi! I was checking on the story and I saw that it now has more than 50K views and 150+ reviews, thank you so much! And, for the people who reviewed, I know it's unrealistic but there is a reason this is fanfiction and not real writing or real life. They do have a lot of faith in Annabeth, because she's always confident and, even if they don't know, she **_**is**_** part goddess. And, I mean, it's New York, a lot of people would love to see that place, if there wasn't, like, coronavirus right now.**

**And, contrary to what some of you think, they ARE NOT all demigods. You'll see by the end, when I do reveal it.**

**JoeBob: Yeah, writer's block sucks, **

Annabeth's POV:

I buried my face in my hands, this was going to be a lot harder than I'd wanted. We'd already confirmed that Amy was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of grains, and she'd confirmed that Joey had probably been some sort of minor god's child. But Mark said he hadn't seen anything. He'd only seen the tattered Delphi Strawberry Farms sign. I knew that Laura couldn't have been a demigod, she was one of the studious girls who'd never gotten a detention in the world.

But every single one of them had gotten past the barrier with no trouble at all. It wasn't weak. The war was over, we were strong and thriving, and we had the Golden Fleece at our disposal. And now every single one was staring at me, and I shuddered.

_Seven half bloods shall answer the call,_

_To storm or fire the world must fall,_

_An oath to keep with a final breath,_

_And foes bear arms to the doors of death._

I couldn't tell them- what if Amy or Joey was one of the Seven, what if they _died?_ And maybe it wasn't going to happen soon, but Rachel had spoken it immediately. We'd just finished a prophecy. If I told them, I'd be risking their lives. But I'd also told them I'd give them answers.

"So…I have a big important question to ask you." They all looked confused, probably wondering why I'd brought them here. I mean- why would I ask them to go into woods and out again, and then act really annoyed. Percy's eyes were as wide as drachmas and he stared at them like he'd never seen them before.

"Annabeth, if they're-"

"Shut up! I shouldn't have let them come, I shouldn't have brought them here, oh gods, I'm an idiot. Guys. I can tell you the truth now…" I said reluctantly, but Amy spoke first.

"But?" I breathed out quickly, looking at Percy.

"Wise Girl, I think we have to-"

"Remember what Rachel said? What if it's…they're…" Percy seemed to get the message and deflated, shoulders drooping. The Achilles Curse was costing him energy but had made him the strongest in Camp if he hadn't been already.

"But it could potentially be, well, life…life threatening." I could've sworn their eyes bugged out, and I exchanged glances at Percy like, _I knew this would happen, but what was I supposed to do?_

"What do you mean…life threatening?" I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Well, when someone says the words 'life threatening', if usually means that it could kill you. However, it can be used as a joke, but I'm not joking." They were staring at me as if I were crazy, which I had noticed too often in the past few hours. "I'm not joking, I swear on my life, this is really serious. If we wait a little while, we can be sure that nothing's going to happen, but right now, we just had a, uh, black out and stuff and it's not really safe." I was rambling and trying to explain as best I could, but there wasn't much to explain that wasn't confidential.

"I'm gonna stop now, cause I'm rambling. Long story short, remember how I told you it had to be calm after the eighteenth of August? Well, that's because there was a big…fighting sort of thing, and it was instrumented by Percy and my friend…Luke." Mark looked like he'd been punched in the gut. "Luke got into some bad stuff years ago and dragged us into it. But he's…he's gone now." My eyes were probably misty, but I'd liked Luke. Loved him even, maybe not romantically but as my friend and brother.

"If you wait, it'll settle down, and it won't be as dangerous anymore."

"As dangerous?" I raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"Oh, Amy…it's always dangerous." Her face made me laugh harder, and for a moment, there was a shred of normalcy in my turbulent life.

**Mark's POV:**

"Oh, Amy…it's always dangerous." Amy's face almost made me laugh except that Annabeth was deadly serious, and it explained so much. Gang stuff? That shady Luke guy Annabeth had told me about a few times? It added up now, but I shook my head. I couldn't go home involved with a gang. I couldn't be killed while on vacation in New York. All four of us shook our heads, and Annabeth looked relieved, which I liked to think was for our sake because you wouldn't want your friends to get involved and die because of your own gang activities. How did Annabeth even have a gang? How was she part of one in the first place? How she had gotten into this sort of mess was beyond me, Annabeth was the school's smartest student, she'd probably be valedictorian in the end, she was the kind of student all the teachers liked, and she'd never do drugs or smoke or drink underage or irresponsibly or any of that sort of thing, she wasn't a rulebreaker, she was _Annabeth._ Annabeth, however, almost looked amused as she shared a glance with Percy, which was half-pained and half-amused.

"Do you want to go see some touristy things?" that put it out of my mind, at least. We were going first to the Empire State Building, but the guard had an odd reaction to Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth nodded coolly at him.

"You'll be wanting the 600th again, I'm guessing?" Annabeth's eyes widened comically, and she shook her head.

"No, sir, I think you have a concussion." She tilted her head at us, however, and his mouth opened. "We're going up to the top, not the _top."_ He gestured for us to go on, and Annabeth relaxed as soon as the elevator music started playing, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes blissfully before murmuring to Percy.

"We're up here, again…I hope my mom didn't…"

"Oh, she did…but Hermes…"

Annabeth smiled, a strained smile, before standing on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek before blushing scarlet as the rest of us stared unabashedly at them.

"Oh, god, PDA!" Joey moaned theatrically before pretending to faint and sliding to the floor, Amy and the rest of us laughing. "Get me to the hospital, quick, I might be DOA." **(DOA means dead on arrival. It's a hospital term.)**

"Shut up, Joey." Laura said, still laughing. "Otherwise, you might _actually_ be _dead on arrival."_ His grin shrank away and I noticed Annabeth staring up at the sky with her hands together, lips moving just a bit. She stopped, quickly though, the elevator still moving.

"What if he…me?" Percy whispered to Annabeth, who rolled her eyes before seeming to realize that what Percy had said actually had some merit and looking up at the sky and speaking.

"Please…smite him." It sounded rather serious, though I hadn't heard all of it. Percy bowed his head solemnly in response, though, so I guess I'd definitely misheard the words _smite him._ Why would Annabeth want someone, anyone, to smite her boyfriend? You could see in her eyes that she loved Percy, maybe not romantically yet, but as a friend and maybe as family. He'd been her best friend for years and maybe they'd only started dating a few days ago, but she'd already liked him. She'd kissed him last year, and even though they'd both not really acted on it, she'd still liked him.

The elevator reached the last level after a long wait, and Percy and Annabeth, though they'd been at the back, were out before any of us, Percy looking rather surprised that he wasn't, like, dead or something, though I supposed if a elevator incident happened, we could be stuck for hours trapped because of some sort of a freak accident. Annabeth leaned over the railing and looked down easily, like she'd done it a million times. I made that mistake and immediately felt queasy. I'd had nausea from heights for ages, and even though I wasn't in a plane, looking down made me feel sick. I withdrew from the railing as quickly as possible, though not before I was affected. Laura, however, looked down with a delight that was almost irresistible and very, very wrong looking, at least to me. Annabeth looked at me sympathetically, though all of my friends withdrew long before she did. Or Percy, actually, though he apparently prayed before looking down.

"Hey, there's water there- Annabeth, maybe-" the next thing I heard was screaming, and there was no Percy. Amy and Laura's screaming, and Annabeth leaning desperately over the edge. Joey rushed back but withdrew, face white.

"He's gone. He's, oh my god, he's gone. He's falling." I looked down then, Percy was barely a dot now, and Annabeth-

"Annabeth!" she was climbing…over the edge? "What are you doing?" Annabeth, however, had already released herself to thin air.

"Sorry, guys." She was already disappearing, and we rushed to the elevator.

_Percy is dead. Percy is dead. Annabeth is dead. His last words- Annabeth, maybe. Her last words- sorry, guys. Annabeth is dead. Dead. Dead. Dead._

It repeated in my mind like a chorus of cackling witches, chanting 'Dead, dead, dead' over and over again. As soon as the elevator opened, we were out, panting and yelling nonsense at the doorman, who followed. My jaw dropped as soon as I walked out that door.

What did I see that made me so scared?

Percy and Annabeth, sitting on a bench next to a pool of water, and holding hands easily, without a scratch on either of them. I'd _seen_ it. Percy, leaning over, his legs disappearing and Amy and Laura screaming, Annabeth leaning over the edge in shock. I'd seen her climbing over the deck's bar before letting go and releasing herself to gravity and certain death. She couldn't be alive.

"What what? How- how?" I was at a loss for words. Annabeth looked happy, excited even, not squashed as a pancake with her body next to her boyfriend's. She'd committed suicide in front of our eyes.

And a little voice in my head, one that I hated for being so selfish right now, said- _she must really love Percy._ Because I was over her, now, but she'd been my crush for a long time. I'd never forget it. _She must really love Percy. She must really love Percy. She must really love Percy._

And Annabeth, Annabeth had the nerve to _laugh._ She laughed, clear and clean, a really happy sound, looking up at the observation deck on the 86th floor, and kept laughing.

"Sorry. I shouldn't be laughing."

"No! You should be _dead!"_ Laura's voice had raised up an octave. "Percy, you _fell off_ the observation deck! Annabeth, you _jumped after him!_ You shouldn't be alive. Neither of you are alive, this is- this is all a hallucination! Your spirits, going up to heaven!"

"Percy, Annabeth?" we turned to see a red headed, green eyed girl staring at us, walking up. Annabeth smiled.

"Hi, Rachel! These are our…friends."

"No, you aren't alive!" Laura said desperately. Rachel frowned.

"Annabeth, I'm not sure they're right in the head-" Annabeth started whispering in her ear, and Rachel relaxed.

"Oh. I see. Well, guys, let's sit down. I think, I need to explain something. My name is Rachel. I met Percy when he jumped out Goode High's window after blowing up the band room last August. But, the two of them are a weird bunch. Percy's really good at surviving freak accidents, and Annabeth has the same knack. They are also rather dramatic. Percy probably just appeared to be falling down, and it was just a person you saw walking on the street, and he was climbing, Annabeth the same way." We gaped. And gawked. Rachel nodded seriously.

"Well then, I've got to go pack for Clarion. Bye guys." Rachel walked away. I was shuddering.

We didn't mention it after that, we only had a week. We went to Central Park, and Museums, and Buildings, and had picnics and things like that. We hung out with Percy and Annabeth. But then, it happened.

"We aren't going back to San Francisco yet. It's going to, well, it's going to be a while. We need to make sure everything dies down. I'm sorry. I'll…I'll try to talk with you. I'll come to see you off tomorrow morning."

Our flight was leaving in the morning. And Annabeth, Percy and Annabeth, they weren't coming with us.


	31. First Jack, now Daniel!

**Hi. So, I have an announcement to make. A lot of you probably won't like it, but it is what it is, and it's the truth. Please read this, don't skip ahead, it's important.**

**I'm currently in the process of writing five chapters. These are the last five chapters- this one, the next three, and the end/epilogue. Some of you have told me that you don't want me to end this story, but there's really only so much you can do with this. So, I'm sorry, but soon this is going to be over. But I will eventually write a few one-shots about Mark, Joey, Amy, Laura, Percy and Annabeth, in a Mortal Friendships One-Shot collection. And so, I'm writing a really long AN because after the 35****th**** chapter, I am going to be working on a new story after I do some work on my other two and then I will write a new one.**

**So I need you guys to help me with something. I have four choices, there is a poll on my profile but you can also put this in a review. There are four story plots I'm thinking of writing, I need to choose one, so I want you guys to help me. Here they are.**

**1: 'Drops of Jupiter'.**

**She left four years ago, to go to college. To go to New Rome. He didn't get in. But she did. He told her to go, it was her architecture dream at stake, she had full ride. But now, Annabeth is coming back for good. After four impossibly long years of separation. But how can you save a relationship withered from time or space? Based off of Drops of Jupiter by Train.**

**2: Hands and Words are Not for Hurting: Percy Jackson has left New Rome, leaving behind Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, and most of all Annabeth, due to a fight that ended in their separation. Annabeth, who started and ended it, becomes weak and insecure, hiding secrets, while the remaining Seven try to comfort her. But a year later, Percy returns to visit. But when he meets a weak, frail version of Annabeth Chase, will they fall in love again? Or will he go back to New York leaving the girl he fell into hell for?**

**3: Soul Shards: Everyone has romantic, friendly, and family soulmates. Soul-mating. You know the family, best friends are pretty easy, but everyone is obsessed with the romantic soulmate. Annabeth Chase didn't care about soul-mating until a cute boy moved into the apartment across the hall…a boy who, in the world of soulmates, could never have been Annabeth's. Mortal AU. Cliché, I know, but don't care. I want to.**

**4: Purple Roses: Purple roses stand for magic and your first love, but Annabeth's never had hers. To be fair, she's only nineteen. Her schoolwork didn't allow it in high school, and now she's in her dream college, doing well. Of course, she still doesn't have time for love. But then she bumped into Percy Jackson on the first day of the new semester. Maybe she has a reason to buy those purple roses. Mortal AU.**

**There. Leave a review, or vote in the poll on my profile, for whichever one you'd like. They are, I know, all Percabeth love stories, but I want to write one I just don't know which. Now, I'm going to quit the AN and go to 31.**

**123Thomas321: As I said earlier, the story has five more chapters.**

**JoeBob: Sorry, not till the end. Actually, wait, I'm not sorry, never mind, because I'm a tease that way, so…sorry, I guess? **

**Edit: I was just writing this and realized my plan made it so it couldn't be June, so I had to take a part of the plot out, because I had plans for something else, and now I need to rewrite the whole thing. Also, I am planning to finish the story this week, on May 14****th****.**

**Mark's POV:**

It had been ten months since we left New York, and Percy and Annabeth. We'd had limited contact, but so far, they'd been doing well. That was before the phone call.

"_Hello?" Annabeth. She was crying, her voice strained, and I could imagine red eyes and a runny nose._

"_Mark, Percy's…Percy's gone." There was complete silence in Laura's living room right then._

"_Annabeth, what do you mean?" Amy, Joey and Laura gathered around me, concerned. There was a quiet sob on the other line, and silence, and background noise and a lot of static around Annabeth._

"_We met up, yesterday night, we were so…so excited. Really happy, you know? And then…then…he kissed me goodnight and went to his cabin, and today, I woke up, and he wasn't at breakfast, but he didn't come down at all, and I went in…and he wasn't there. So, I got Grover…and his friends to look for him, but he wasn't in Camp. And I've spent six hours looking for him and Mark he's gone, he's not there, he's missing! I know he wouldn't disappear on purpose because he knows I take it seriously!"_

"_Annabeth, calm down, I'm sure he's somewhere-" But Annabeth cut me off with…was that a wail?_

"_No, he's not, he's nowhere! Mark, I have to go…I'll call you in a week." Annabeth hung up. The rest of us stared around as we sat there, listening to the silence of grief. Percy couldn't be gone._

That had been a month ago. We were mostly shocked, but we didn't know what to do about it. We couldn't help with searching for him, he'd been in New York last Annabeth saw him. He was a mostly rational person, he wouldn't just disappear and leave Annabeth, his girlfriend, behind.

But he had, and it was annoying and heartbreaking and a really stupid move to make. Annabeth.

So we dropped it. But the mood was silent, and somber, because Percy Jackson was one of our best friends and the first time we saw him, after his being missing for months upon months, he couldn't, didn't, recognize us at all, didn't know our names or faces or show any sign of remembering his old friends, the friends he'd known for maybe a year tops and gotten close to before literally disappearing into thin air.

On Monday, Laura came in grinning stupidly and looking pretty much like a cat who had caught a canary, but before we could ask what it was about the bell had rung and I was left alone to have my elective with no friends, and a lot of my classes. This year, we hadn't really had a good year of schedules, I only had one or two classes with my friends, though I had two less friends this year, because of Annabeth and Percy. It was still freezing cold in San Francisco, and everybody was bundled up in some sort of jacket even though those who had thick puffy ones had kept them in lockers. It was sophomore year, for us.

But at lunchtime, I learned what had happened, and it wiped the smile off of my face immediately. Amy and Joey were watching Laura, and also looking at me, and then after looking at them like, 'what are you doing', I turned and stared at Laura. More specifically, her hands. Which were interlocked with some guy's hand.

A guy with chestnut brown hair and hazel-ish green eyes and had the goofiest smile on his face as he stared at Laura, who gave him an equally dopey smile in return. My heart dropped into my stomach. She wasn't doing this again, was she? But their hands were already interlocked, and I could see the look on her face that was on Joey's and Amy's so often.

"Mark!" Laura almost _giggled._ "This is Daniel! He's my new boyfriend!" My first thought, I have to admit, was this:

_So Laura's going to be one of those girls who dates guys on and off and on and off? That's sad. I hope I'm one of those guys…but I don't want it to be for two weeks like Jack. I wonder how long she and Daniel will last._ She'd dated a guy named Brad for about a month in September, but eventually dumped him when he started getting really nasty and jealous about her hanging out with us when we were her best friends. He'd never been Laura's go-to friends, he'd never let her cry on his shoulder after a nasty breakup with that Jack.

But the more I stared at Daniel, the more I realized something, and I blurted it out accidently but it was in fact a good question to ask.

"He's not in our grade, is he?" Laura laughed again, and he definitely wasn't he was _way_ too tall to be a sophomore right now, right?

"Daniel's a senior, Mark." My stomach dropped a little, and Joey and Amy gave me looks as if to say, 'look what you've done by not asking her out. She's desperate enough to date a guy two years older than her', and I gave them looks that meant, 'shut up'. Luckily, they hadn't said anything out loud, but I scrutinized Daniel again.

"Well, if he makes you happy…" I sat down at the lunch table and immediately started talking to Amy about this 'Daniel' guy.

"Where'd she meet him?" Amy shook her head helplessly, but it was obvious she knew. "Did she meet him at school? He goes here, right?" then I noticed the shirt he was wearing. "Oh, of course he's in Leadership!"

Amy looked like she didn't want to say anything more, so I stopped, and tried not to look in Laura's direction with the lovely Daniel who…eww….kissing….gross. I stopped paying attention after that, or at least tried to stop and I think I was doing well, but the walk home was strained. Thankfully, or unthankfully, Daniel had to go do community service volunteering at the animal shelter, because he was _that_ perfect, and Laura was mopey that her new two years older boyfriend wasn't here but she was also chattering about how perfect Daniel was, and how sweet Daniel was, and how funny Daniel was, and my teeth were grinding into nubs and Amy and Joey were giving me this stupidly sympathetic look.

"Well, Laura, where'd you two meet?"

"Well, remember how I got a kitten yesterday?" I almost choked on my own saliva, but Laura wasn't finished talking. "Well, I did, she's _so_ cute and sweet and adorable and I love her already but that's not the point. But it turns out he volunteers six days a week at the shelter where I got the kitten, her name is Sage, by the way, but anyway, he was helping me pick her out and he's so _hot._" I almost gagged again.

"But we got to talking, and then, I guess I acted on impulse, but, I, may have, um, kissed him. And then…things happened, and we started dating, and stuff."

Why did it always happen to me?

**I am sorry it is short, I was going to have them meet Percy without memories but I can't do that here, because I have something else planned, so maybe later, but…oh well.**


	32. I KISSED Her?

**Hi. So, I have an announcement to make. A lot of you probably won't like it, but it is what it is, and it's the truth. Please read this, don't skip ahead, it's important.**

**I'm currently in the process of writing five chapters. These are the last five chapters- this one, the next three, and the end/epilogue. Some of you have told me that you don't want me to end this story, but there's really only so much you can do with this. So, I'm sorry, but soon this is going to be over. But I will eventually write a few one-shots about Mark, Joey, Amy, Laura, Percy and Annabeth, in a Mortal Friendships One-Shot collection. And so, I'm writing a really long AN because after the 35****th**** chapter, I am going to be working on a new story after I do some work on my other two and then I will write a new one.**

**So I need you guys to help me with something. I have four choices, there is a poll on my profile but you can also put this in a review. There are four story plots I'm thinking of writing, I need to choose one, so I want you guys to help me. Here they are.**

**1: 'Drops of Jupiter'.**

**She left four years ago, to go to college. To go to New Rome. He didn't get in. But she did. He told her to go, it was her architecture dream at stake, she had full ride. But now, Annabeth is coming back for good. After four impossibly long years of separation. But how can you save a relationship withered from time or space? Partially based off of Drops of Jupiter by Train.**

**2: Hands and Words are Not for Hurting: Percy Jackson has left New Rome, leaving behind Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, and most of all Annabeth, due to a fight that ended in their separation. Annabeth, who started and ended it, becomes weak and insecure, hiding secrets, while the remaining Seven try to comfort her. But a year later, Percy returns to visit. But when he meets a weak, frail version of Annabeth Chase, will they fall in love again? Or will he go back to New York leaving the girl he fell into hell for?**

**3: Soul Shards: Everyone has romantic, friendly, and family soulmates. Soul-mating. You know the family, best friends are pretty easy, but everyone is obsessed with the romantic soulmate. Annabeth Chase didn't care about soul-mating until a cute boy moved into the apartment across the hall…a boy who, in the world of soulmates, could never have been Annabeth's. Mortal AU. Soulmate Au****.**** Cliché, I know, but don't care. I want to, and I write Fanfiction for me, not for other people, sorry, but it's true****.**

**4: Purple Roses: Purple roses stand for magic and your first love, but Annabeth's never had hers. To be fair, she's only nineteen. Her schoolwork didn't allow it in high school, and now she's in her dream college, doing well. Of course, she still doesn't have time for love. But then she bumped into Percy Jackson on the first day of the new semester in her English class. Maybe she has a reason to buy those purple roses after all. Mortal AU.**

**There. Leave a review, or vote in the poll on my profile, for whichever one you'd like. They are, I know, all Percabeth love stories, but I want to write one I just don't know which, and I want to choose one that you guys would like to read. If I'm able to write enough the last chapter will be out on May 14****th****, because that is a special day for this story, but I don't want to explain, so anyways.**

**Also, the poll will be open until May 21****st****, thank you. The first chapter of whatever story is chosen will be out sometime in May after I take a break and also write my other stories, which you should also look at.**

**Peeta0BreadAndHumus: thank you…you're right, this is awkward. I'm gonna stop now.**

**ASWW: thank you! I think you are the first person who has actually voted on this, so thanks!**

**BlackholesA: thank you! **

**Nobody: thank you! I try to come up with interesting things but sometimes it is hard, but I do try, so thanks for that and for voting.**

**And also, one more thing before you guys actually read the story! Since I've had a lot of people that I saw liked this story, I've thought a little bit about doing a sequel some time after this is done. It won't be immediate or definite, but it is a possibility even though it won't be out immediately. So, if any of you want to see something like that, please put it down. It would be called 'Immortal Enmities'.**

**Mark's POV:**

Laura didn't actually like Daniel all that much, it turns out. Or, if she did, she let him go. They broke up after two and a half weeks, though they weren't exactly compatible to begin with. He was older than she was by two years, she hadn't really like him that much to begin with and just been attracted to him, so I guess it hadn't worked out, seeing as she came to lunch a few weeks later without Daniel on her arm. She hadn't been too upset, at least in front of us, but she wasn't all that happy either. Apparently popular girls like pressuring her because she didn't have a boyfriend, so Daniel had been the solution.

But she was fine for now. At least, it was. But then, she got all weird about some girl I thought was cute, and then I messed everything up. So here it is.

We were in the cafeteria, and this nice girl, Elli her name was, pranced up to us. She was definitely pretty, and Joey was looking a little until Amy slapped him and he stared moony-eyed at Amy instead. She had this silky black hair and these amber eyes that I got lost in…and then she spoke. And her voice…

"Get _away_ from him!" Laura said sounding angry and a little scared. I blinked at Laura and then back at the girl, Elli. "I don't care _what_ you are, get away from us." She scooted closer to me, but now I was conflicted. Cute girl named Elli who was interested, jealous girl named Laura who was my friend but had never shown interest in me. What to pick? I tried not to think about the way Laura was practically snarling at her, along with Amy, and Joey was looking a bit hostile. Jeez, they really wanted me to date Laura, didn't they?

"Go away, girls. Mark and I are going to have some fun." I leaned away on impulse, her voice had taken on a hard edge and the orange amber eyes, mesmerizing as they were, were starting to burn with flame on the inside. I was beginning to see that something was very, very wrong with Elli.

"No! Get _away!"_ A desperate edge was beginning to creep into Laura's voice. She was staring at Elli as if she was an alien, and I didn't really like it. Amy and Joey as well. "What are you?" Elli snarled at Laura and purred at me.

"It doesn't matter what I am to you, girl, this boy _needs _me." She glared at Laura. "You can't stop me." Her hair was getting staticky, raising above her head, and my friends choked on their lunches. Tara and Jayden rushed over from another table, and Tara glared at Elli.

"Get out, _empousa."_ Tara almost growled at Elli, and I was really confused. "Or I'll send you back to your home myself." Her hand was straying towards her belt, and I saw a multi tool there. A multi tool, in a school? Why did Tara have one of those on her, they were forbidden. Elli saw it, and instead of looking afraid, _hissed._

"You can't kill me, your one of that love…you're not powerful enough to defeat me. The last one to kill one of us was that girl Annabeth Chase, and she killed Shelli!" I remembered that Shelli girl from Annabeth's confrontation with her about a year ago, how they'd talked, and the thuds, until Annabeth was the only one talking and Shelli never came back down. We'd been scared of her that time, though we'd never really known what had happened to that girl named Shelli. We'd just known she'd been rather hostile towards Annabeth, though Annabeth had never mentioned Shelli to us.

"Well, there'll be another one by the end of today if you don't leave us alone. Why are you bothering him and not Amy or Joey or me and Jayden?" she looked genuinely confused, as if they were more special than I was. Couldn't they see it was because Amy and Joey were dating, and Jayden had a girlfriend? And was Tara talking about _killing_ this poor girl named Elli, just because she wanted to date me? That was a little harsh, and while we were friends, it wasn't like Tara needed to protect me from a cute girl. But Elli was already gone, and I glared at the five of them.

"What did you do? I almost got a girlfriend there!" they were staring at me in concern, but I didn't really see the problem. They'd lost me a hot girl who I had been interested in, and I was annoyed.

"Mark, you couldn't see her? She wasn't a girl, she's a monster." Laura said, sounding confused. She was a good actress. I didn't know Laura could be so petty. "You guys, back me up." The rest of them all nodded, and I stared at them in confusion.

"Look, I don't know what you guys had against Elli, but she was fine! She liked me, she was probably my good chance at a girlfriend for the next few months, and no, you guys had to scare her off. Maybe her eyes were weird and her hair was staticky and she walked a bit funny but she was pretty and she liked me and you spoiled it. I don't know why you guys did that, or what kind of plot you guys did just now, but I didn't like it." They were staring at me, Tara and Jayden most of all.

"She was just a girl, guys."

"Sorry." Joey muttered, glancing at the others. "Just a girl, huh?" they shook their heads, but didn't say anything else, except for giving me the occasional glance, confused from most of them, except for Tara and Jayden who just looked sympathetic.

"Look, Mark, if you want consolation, she'd suck your neck till you had a mark. Be lucky you didn't go with her." **(By the way, that was an empousa for lack of originality, Tara's using a…play on words.)**

Amy bit back a laugh and I stared at Tara who just raised her eyebrows. "I just call it like I see it. You don't want something like that for your parents to see, I can tell you." She seemed to be dead serious, and I was really confused and kind of scared that _that_ was what that girl wanted to do with me. Maybe I owed them for saving me from her after all, if only to save me from a mark on my neck, even though I was pretty sure that wasn't why Laura, Joey, Amy, Tara and Jayden had been so hostile towards Elli. She'd been a nice girl, though, and I still wasn't sure what they'd picked up on that made them dislike her straightaway.

After we got home though, Laura had changed. She wasn't as happy as she'd been earlier, and she was staring at her knees instead of at me. She and I were the only people at my house as Joey and Amy were going on a date, and she seemed rather subdued.

"What's wrong?" she was hugging her knees now and sitting on a chair, her voice muffled. The gibberish she'd told me wasn't really an answer, and she didn't really seem in the best mood, but I pushed on with my investigation.

"I just…it's stupid, really…but I miss Daniel. I miss having a boyfriend. Not, really, him, just, someone to laugh with and talk to and have to back you up when things go wrong." Daniel again. Just when I thought we were free of all senior, good-looking boyfriends, he pops up again, even though she's obviously not going to date him, right? That would be stupid, when she just broke up with him. Time apart before together, and all. And hopefully if he did come back, Laura would already be with me. I realized this was starting to sound a lot like my whole Annabeth thing, when I'd been so obsessed with trying to get her to go out on dates with me and like me and be my best friend when I'd already known, somewhere, that it wasn't going to happen that way, and now that I was free of it, it was good for me. Better, at least.

"Your friends back you up, me and Joey and Amy." She looked up at me and tried for a smile, though it wasn't with her usual flair at all, she seemed tired and weary, and only at the start of our second semester of sophomore year. She wasn't going to last with this attitude. I nodded. "We'll always have your back, you know that."

"I know, it's just, there was always something so _comforting_ and _reassuring_ about knowing you had a guy and that people couldn't pick on you anymore, because he was going to be there for you and he'd pick you back up." Laura said into her knees. "And I just, I guess, thought that maybe it would work for a while, but I guess this was good. The more time together, the harder it is to lose them." The tone of her voice was soft and almost broken, and I felt really bad for her. And I guess that's why I did what I did, was that I felt bad for her. But what did I do?

She was sitting there, and she looked up with this almost pleading look in her blue eyes, and I was sitting down next to her by that point…and then I leaned in and her eyes went wide.

And I kissed her, and it felt…well, it felt better than I'd thought my first kiss would be, and she made a surprised sound and then, I guess, she was kissing me back? I wasn't sure how that was supposed to feel though, but she wasn't pulling away. Until she did. She pulled on her coat hurriedly and made a squeaky noise in the back of her throat and disappeared into the night leaving me alone on a chair in the same position I'd been kissing her in, except there was no girl I was kissing.

And then I was alone, and confused, and not sure what I'd just done or why I'd had to do it.

I called Joey at 8 P.M. He picked up first ring, sounding surprised and like he'd just gotten back from the date with Amy they'd had. If they hadn't had a date tonight, they'd have stopped me. I wouldn't have ruined everything. What did I do? Why did I do it? Why would I do it, she'd just broken up with Daniel. Her guy.

"Joey, I did something really stupid, and I need help." To be fair, it was more melodramatic than it really was, but Joey was the guy who'd been dating this girl for almost a year and a half. He was bound to know more about how to make things less awkward than I did! Laura was my first kiss.

"What did you do? I just got off the phone with Laura, she sounded pretty shaken, but I guess-"

"She didn't tell you, did she?" my voice cracked on the last bit, and I clenched my fists.

"Didn't tell me what? What did you do?" I stared at the phone. _Why hadn't she told him? _Was she ashamed? Did she not want to kiss me even when I was 90% sure she'd kissed me back? What was I supposed to do?

"She was over, and, you know, upset about Daniel, and I, um, kind of kissed her." There was complete silence for about two seconds before Joey whooped and startled me, since I'd been expecting the kind of thing that Laura had given me- an, oh god, what did you do and why did you do it sort of reaction, and then I remembered that Joey had always wanted us to get together.

"But then she ran away."

"Oh."

**This chapter is longer than the first, I think it is the longest I've ever written, but that's because of the AN at the start. Once again, please vote in the poll on my profile or if you're a guest, put it in a review!**


	33. Starting the New Year Right- (And Wrong)

**Hi. So, I have an announcement to make. A lot of you probably won't like it, but it is what it is, and it's the truth. Please read this, don't skip ahead, it's important.**

**I'm currently in the process of writing five chapters. These are the last two chapters- this on and the end/epilogue. Some of you have told me that you don't want me to end this story, but there's really only so much you can do with this. So, I'm sorry, but soon this is going to be over. But I will eventually write a few one-shots about Mark, Joey, Amy, Laura, Percy and Annabeth, in a Mortal Friendships One-Shot collection. And so, I'm writing a really long AN because after the 35****th**** chapter, I am going to be working on a new story after I do some work on my other two and then I will write a new one.**

**So I need you guys to help me with something. I have four choices, there is a poll on my profile but you can also put this in a review. There are four story plots I'm thinking of writing, I need to choose one, so I want you guys to help me. Here they are.**

**1: 'Drops of Jupiter'.**

**She left four years ago, to go to college. To go to New Rome. He didn't get in. But she did. He told her to go, it was her architecture dream at stake, she had full ride. But now, Annabeth is coming back for good. After four impossibly long years of separation. But how can you save a relationship withered from time or space? Partially based off of Drops of Jupiter by Train.**

**2: Hands and Words are Not for Hurting: Percy Jackson has left New Rome, leaving behind Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, and most of all Annabeth, due to a fight that ended in their separation. Annabeth, who started and ended it, becomes weak and insecure, hiding secrets, while the remaining Seven try to comfort her. But a year later, Percy returns to visit. But when he meets a weak, frail version of Annabeth Chase, will they fall in love again? Or will he go back to New York leaving the girl he fell into hell for?**

**3: Soul Shards: Everyone has romantic, friendly, and family soulmates. Soul-mating. You know the family, best friends are pretty easy, but everyone is obsessed with the romantic soulmate. Annabeth Chase didn't care about soul-mating until a cute boy moved into the apartment across the hall…a boy who, in the world of soulmates, could never have been Annabeth's. Mortal AU. Soulmate Au****.**** Cliché, I know, but don't care. I want to, and I write Fanfiction for me, not for other people, sorry, but it's true****.**

**4: Purple Roses: Purple roses stand for magic and your first love, but Annabeth's never had hers. To be fair, she's only nineteen. Her schoolwork didn't allow it in high school, and now she's in her dream college, doing well. Of course, she still doesn't have time for love. But then she bumped into Percy Jackson on the first day of the new semester in her English class. Maybe she has a reason to buy those purple roses after all. Mortal AU.**

**There. Leave a review, or vote in the poll on my profile, for whichever one you'd like. They are, I know, all Percabeth love stories, but I want to write one I just don't know which, and I want to choose one that you guys would like to read. If I'm able to write enough the last chapter will be out on May 14****th****, because that is a special day for this story, but if you're smart enough, you can figure it out just by looking at the story properties.**

**Also, the poll will be open until May 21****st****, thank you. The first chapter of whatever story is chosen will be out sometime in May after I take a break and also write my other stories, which you should also look at, even though to finish this, they have gone on hiatus...**

**And one more thing before you actually read the story, I am thinking of doing a sequel to Mortal Friendships. It won't be for a while, to be honest I'm kind of done with this idea, I had it in February.**

**It's not that I don't not like the idea anymore, but I just need to take a break from it. If you guys want, some time in the future, I don't know when, I may write a sequel to Mortal Friendships. If you guys are interested, leave it in a review. It would be called Immortal Enmities.**

**Zoeawwrites: Thank you so much! I am also sad that this is ending, it's been my baby for almost three months. I am also excited to write something new; I'm honestly surprised I've stuck with this this long; I get really bored of projects like these really quickly.**

**Percabeth: Well, that makes me feel good. But then I feel bad, because after this chapter, there's only two chapters, and then it's done. I hope you didn't hurt yourself. Thank you!**

**Xiraxus: Thank you!**

**SiennaLOVESpugs: Thank you!**

**Guest: …I don't know what to say to that.**

**Booklover: Thank you!**

**ThatGirlWithACat: I'm…not sure what to say to your evil laughing, but I guess I should be used to it by now. The fact that you have to arrange speaking points while talking to me in roleplay is very…interesting, I guess. Sorry, but Elli is going to go away, she won't kill someone. Wait, actually, that would be a good idea. Mark and Laura, well, that's in this chapter, actually. **

**And now **_**I**_** am going to go back to virtual decorating with **_**you.**_

**Laura's POV: (I know! We NEVER do **_**Laura's**_** POV! But still, don't get too excited.)**

It had been a week since Mark had kissed me, and since I'd kissed him back, and since then, I'd been in a turmoil of guilt. I hadn't really spoken to him and had called up Amy but had been readily avoiding him ever since then. Amy had said I shouldn't, but I wasn't really sure what to do. He'd kissed me. The right thing to do had been to pull away, and tell him I didn't see him that way, and say I was sorry and comfort him and go home. What had I done? I'd kissed him back and pulled away, said I had to go, didn't say I was sorry and avoided him the rest of the week. He'd been staring at me more often, but I'd tried to pretend I didn't notice, and I was sorry that I was doing it but I didn't know what else to do. I'd had a crush on him for about a year, but he'd said we were just friends when we went to the dance, so obviously he hadn't had feelings for me. But I knew he hadn't really liked Jack all that much and I'd let myself believe it was jealousy until he acted cool towards Daniel. But then, my stupid self did the first stupid thing I was going to do that day. When Elli came over, I got really, really jealous and mad. Until she…changed. She became this thing with glowing red eyes and a metal leg and a donkey hoof and this hair floating up and she was trying to get Mark and I couldn't let her he was my friend. No matter whether I liked him or not. But he couldn't see her. The rest of us did, that she wasn't a human. But for some reason she'd chosen Mark to pick on and 'Elli' wouldn't let it go until Tara threatened her, and then left saying she needed to 'IM' somebody, though she didn't say, and dragged her brother Jayden with her so we couldn't get answers.

He'd been mad at us afterwards, especially me. He'd been rather confused, you could tell, but he hadn't said anything after a while. And then, it was just the two of us as his house. Amy and Joey were going on a date. I'd been subdued after picking up my phone to text Jack and realizing that I'd blocked him and deleted his contact after I broke up with him a few days ago. Then I realized how I was boyfriend less which in high school is a big deal, and how he'd been a senior, and how I'd lost my security and I felt…bad, and I guess he was kind of helpless on how to help me and he tried, he did, but then I looked up and he was so close to me and leaned forward…

And then he was kissing me, and I couldn't help kissing back but then I realized what I was doing and how stupid it was of both of us, and then I had to get up. I couldn't just…kiss him and pretend nothing had happened, so that was exactly what I did the next day. He was giving me a crestfallen look, but I had to pretend to ignore it. And I ignored for seven days, the glances, and the sitting next to me, and Joey's and Amy's looks at me like, 'what are you doing?' when both knew that I'd been attracted to him for a while. High school sweethearts don't turn out for everybody. I wanted to have a friendship with Mark as long as I lived, and I couldn't do it if we had broken up or something like that in high school. Amy and Joey may have been doing well, but it didn't last. It was almost New Year's, anyways. They'd been dating for more than a year now, almost a year and three months.

I was in Golden Gate Park on December 31st. Christmas had passed a week ago and I'd come back outside three days later after the euphoria of opening a bunch of…clothes. In hindsight, I really shouldn't have gone to the park, because of course he was stalking me or something.

"Hey." I jumped, but it didn't do any good because he was already there, and I couldn't exactly run away. I probably shouldn't have ignored him in the first place, except that I was scared now because I knew I liked him and I didn't want to ruin everything. Which was a stupid excuse, I know, but. Ross and Rachel? After they broke up the first time, they weren't on good terms for a long time, and that broke up their friend group for a while. I couldn't do the same thing to Joey and Amy. Or Mark.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" the question was painfully honest, as if he genuinely didn't know what had happened and why it wasn't right. I wanted to scream he was not making this easy.

"You don't even know?" My voice was hard and bitter, and he blinked. I turned and watched him. "You kissed me."

"You kissed me back." Annoying as it was, he had a point. I swallowed.

"Well, I shouldn't have." Hurt flashed across his face but I had to keep going now. I'd already hit the ship with the iceberg and I was already going to drown, I might as well do it right. That was a horrible metaphor, but it made the point. "We're just friends. I don't know why you decided to kiss me, but it wasn't right and I shouldn't have kissed you back. I know Amy and Joey are having their own paradise friends-before-lovers thing but that won't work for us, we aren't Amy and Joey. It's not going to work, and I don't want to ruin our friendship for something that isn't going to help."

"Because our friendship isn't ruined already, Laura?" His voice was rising, and I flinched. "You've ignored me all week, and it's not how it used to be anyways. If it's going to be ruined, the least we could do is try to patch it up. And if it doesn't work, you've already ruined it anyways." His words gave me a flash of shame and I bit the inside of my cheek for the fortieth time today, it was red and raw by now.

"Come on, Laura." He gave me puppy dog eyes and I wanted to kill him. Puppy dog eyes. Seriously. Why? I couldn't stand puppy dog eyes, even when they came from him or my kitten!

I considered for a few minutes, during which his expression gradually fell farther and farther and I felt really bad, and also, I was having a mental battle with myself, which went something like this:

_Irrational Me: What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Just do it already. If you have to, don't make him look gradually more and more like a kicked puppy._

_Rational Me: Because I'm not supposed to date him. He's one of my best friends. We aren't that sort, me._

_Irrational Me: But he likes you. And you like him, so you're _supposed_ to date him. That's what dating is._

_Rational Me: I'm not going to do it, okay? Leave me alone. Oh, my god. I'm talking to myself._

_Irrational Me: That's what makes it so fun. I'm going to bug at you till you date him, because really, I'm the voice of your best friend and that's what she thinks you should do. Just do it, or I'll guilt trip you into it, and you don't want that._

Damn those voices in my head telling me to do one thing or another. I really hated them.

"Fine." His head snapped up. "I'll do it…I'll try it. Okay? But I'll call it quits if I have to." His face brightened momentarily and dimmed, though there was still a lot of happiness. Happiness that scared me because I didn't want to break his heart. He was a nice guy, it was true, but my relationships hadn't ever worked out. Jack I'd dated for a few weeks, Brad and Daniel the same. None of them had been the sort of relationship that you could actually ruin, because both of us had gone into it knowing more or less that we weren't really compatible. Both of us had known that, going into the relationship, it was a high school fling. Or at least, Brad had been. Jack, I'd actually really liked him, he'd been two or three weeks of my time. And I'd thought he was a good guy, maybe he forgot about dates, but I thought he actually did really like me, but looking back on it now, I realized he wasn't really that good of a guy.

"That's okay." Mark was really understanding, which was odd. I don't think I'd be so understanding if I was the one who wanted to date the other and they kept rejecting and pushing them away. _Probably really likes you._ I tried to block that thought. What had happened to Annabeth?

"What happened to Annabeth?" he was silent for a few moments, thinking, I was pretty sure, and I waited patiently. I was confused, though…we didn't talk about the whole Annabeth thing very often, mostly because before, he'd been rather annoyed about the whole Percy thing, who was becoming the rest of our friends, but now that I thought about it when we'd seen them in August, the kisses on the cheek and tightly clasped fingers hadn't really seemed to bother him all that much after all. It hadn't been bothering him for a while, now that I thought about it. I just hadn't really seen it.

"I guess…I guess I just grew out of it, you know?" I nodded, not actually 'knowing'. "I had a crush on Annabeth for a really long time, it was like a secret obsession. And I guess I just realized after a while, 'this is stupid, you've been hung up on a girl for way too long' and it just, kind of shriveled up and died because of how long it had been there. And it was a good thing. It was really obvious after I opened my eyes, that she was in love with Percy."

It was silent as soon as he said Percy's name. Annabeth said she had an idea of where he was but she didn't know where he was. Something about some 'Jason' kid.

"Do you think he's still alive?" He was silent for a few moments before nodding.

"He couldn't just leave her." I nodded.

**Mark's POV:**

They were fighting again. They were doing it more often now. Amy was yelling at him, and he was yelling back at her, and it was spiraling into a mess, and on New Year's Day.

"We always fight. This is New Year's. Maybe it's a sign." One of Joey's more eloquent thoughts, I thought, before thinking that this was not the right moment for that. This was a mark of more than a year together, from one New Year's to the next. This wasn't the right moment for any of it. I smiled uneasily over at Laura, who squeezed my hand.

Today was the day we were official. It was a really good day as far as good days went.

"Yeah. Maybe it is." Amy's face was flushed and her fists clenched where she sat on her couch, watching Joey who leaned against the wall. What had they even fought about?

"Then maybe we should start the New Year without each other." All the color drained from Laura's face as she looked at me. If Joey and Amy broke up, our group would be affected- there were only four of us right now, after all.

"Maybe we should." Amy wasn't backing down. Joey wasn't backing down. This wasn't a good sign at all.

"Fine!"

"Fine!" Joey stomped out into her front yard. Amy into the back.

**Ellie, I told you I was doing something horrible. There it is. Three thousand words!**


	34. Too Many Valentines and Not Enough

**Hi. So, I have an announcement to make. A lot of you probably won't like it, but it is what it is, and it's the truth. Please read this, don't skip ahead, it's important, even though it's been on the last few chapters****.**

**I'm currently in the process of writing one more chapter. This is the last chapter- the end/epilogue. Some of you have told me that you don't want me to end this story, but there's really only so much you can do with this. So, I'm sorry, but soon this is going to be over. But I will eventually write a few one-shots about Mark, Joey, Amy, Laura, Percy and Annabeth, in a Mortal Friendships One-Shot collection. And so, I'm writing a really long AN because after the 35****th**** chapter, I am going to be working on a new story after I do some work on my other two and then I will write a new one after a small break****.**

**So I need you guys to help me with something. I have four choices, there is a poll on my profile but you can also put this in a review. There are four story plots I'm thinking of writing, I need to choose one, so I want you guys to help me. Here they are.**

**1: 'Drops of Jupiter'.**

**She left four years ago, to go to college. To go to New Rome. He didn't get in. But she did. He told her to go, it was her architecture dream at stake, she had full ride. But now, Annabeth is coming back for good. After four impossibly long years of separation. But how can you save a relationship withered from time or space? Partially based off of Drops of Jupiter by Train.**

**2: Hands and Words are Not for Hurting: Percy Jackson has left New Rome, leaving behind Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, and most of all Annabeth, due to a fight that ended in their separation. Annabeth, who started and ended it, becomes weak and insecure, hiding secrets, while the remaining Seven try to comfort her. But a year later, Percy returns to visit. But when he meets a weak, frail version of Annabeth Chase, will they fall in love again? Or will he go back to New York leaving the girl he fell into hell for?**

**3: Soul Shards: Everyone has romantic, friendly, and family soulmates. Soul-mating. You know the family, best friends are pretty easy, but everyone is obsessed with the romantic soulmate. Annabeth Chase didn't care about soul-mating until a cute boy moved into the apartment across the hall…a boy who, in the world of soulmates, could never have been Annabeth's. Mortal AU. Soulmate Au****.**** Cliché, I know, but don't care. I want to, and I write Fanfiction for me, not for other people, sorry, but it's true****.**

**4: Purple Roses: Purple roses stand for magic and your first love, but Annabeth's never had hers. To be fair, she's only nineteen. Her schoolwork didn't allow it in high school, and now she's in her dream college, doing well. Of course, she still doesn't have time for love. But then she bumped into Percy Jackson on the first day of the new semester in her English class. Maybe she has a reason to buy those purple roses after all. Mortal AU.**

**There. Leave a review, or vote in the poll on my profile, for whichever one you'd like. They are, I know, all Percabeth love stories, but I want to write one I just don't know which, and I want to choose one that you guys would like to read. If I'm able to write enough the last chapter will be out on May 14****th****, because that is a special day for this story, but if you're smart enough, you can figure it out just by looking at the story properties.**

**Also, the poll will be open until May 21****st****, thank you. The first chapter of whatever story is chosen will be out sometime in May after I take a break and also write my other stories, which you should also look at, even though to finish this, they have gone on hiatus...**

**And one more thing before you actually read the story, I am thinking of doing a sequel to Mortal Friendships. It won't be for a while, to be honest I'm kind of done with this idea, I had it in February.**

**It's not that I don't not like the idea anymore, but I just need to take a break from it. If you guys want, some time in the future, I don't know when, I may write a sequel to Mortal Friendships. If you guys are interested, leave it in a review or PM. It would be called Immortal Enmities.**

**Oh. To everybody who is probably wanting to kill me for breaking up Joey and Amy, I have an explanation. Their relationship began on the spur of the moment when they were dressed up in costumes and high on candy. They were fifteen year old kids in their freshman year of high school, and barely into it. I thought it was unrealistic that their first relationship last as long as it already did- more than a year, especially when they are pretty much normal. I mean, it started largely due to the fact that Amy was dressed as, well, a goddess, and Joey didn't really look like himself either. They kept going past a lot of high school stress and stuff I think a first time relationship would be hard pressed to keep going past like they did.**

**For people who literally read it as soon as I updated and were like, really shocked: Ellie, Olympus, Nicole, please don't be mad. I told you I was going to fix it, and I am going to.**

**JoeBob: Laura…well, she's Laura. You can't really explain her, or at least, I can't really explain her, even though I made her up…she's hard to explain. **

**JoeBob: Well, there's a reason those movies exist, and probably because they have a shred of truth in them. Though I was being kind of dramatic. Please don't kill me when you read the next chapter.**

**JoeBob: Yeah, I was just watching Friends on that episode where Chandler wants a kiss so Joey kisses him…so I was inspired. Jack never tried to get back together with Laura, she was just thinking about him.**

**ThatGirlWithaCat: Yes, when I say Ellie, I mean you. I find it rather funny you dated a guy at all, but I'll digress. To be fair, I didn't make you stop writing it, I just asked if you guys were still there. I didn't think I'd actually get a hate review, but we'll see, there's still time. As far as 'PAYBACK' goes, this is nicer than I thought any payback I would get would be. I know you aren't a self obsessed ten year old, and if so, I'm really confused that that's who I'm talking to. Thank you for the input on the sequel, and for the review! I realized it was you on the guest review, cause I'm guessing it didn't let you review again, which it does. Some ten years olds are annoying, because…well, I've been trapped with one for six weeks. I know it all too well.**

**Tbrucks: thank you.**

**RexsnipsPercabeth: Thank you, I try my best to keep the stuff good. Thanks for the vote.**

**123Thomas321: thank you for the vote, and the compliment.**

**ItsOnly Pubg: thanks, that's a relief. I have been having more difficulties with it because of the way the story is, and also the fact that mortals and demigods are never supposed to mix anyways. Thank you for the votes!**

**Zoeawwrites: Yup, thank you, the way I'm resolving this is in the last chapter, which is probably going to be super long.**

**Mark's POV:**

They couldn't be serious. Oh, wait, never mind, yes, they were. Laura went after Joey and me, after Amy, who was sitting hugging her knees and crying. I walked up not quietly, but not loudly. Just…walked up. She looked at me with red rimmed eyes, and I tried to smile, but my mouth muscles didn't work. In fact, they worked too well. I frowned instead.

I sat down next to her and just gave her a hug, and she leaned against my shoulder. They'd both been really happy about me and Laura. And then they started talking about their own relationship, and it spiraled into a hateful mess. They'd been having a few issues, I mean, Joey wasn't the worst boyfriend, he took her out often, walked her home and stuff, but after a long time of dating, I wasn't surprised that it eventually ended. I was however surprised he ended it. He doted on Amy and he might've even loved the girl.

"You okay?"

"No. No, I'm not okay. I just- I just got dumped. By my long time boyfriend. Oh, god, I just- what about you guys? I think we stayed together so long only because of you guys…and it's ruined anyway…" she withdrew, her eyes red and puffy, and I shook my head.

"No, we'll be fine. Do you want to be alone?" Thirty seconds later, I was sitting on the couch opposite Laura, completely shell shocked.

That was a month and a half ago. They had mended a friendship, and were going to the dance as friends, but had made it explicitly clear that nothing was going to happen between them. Meanwhile, Laura and I were still together a month and a half later, and everything was going pretty well. I'd tried to learn from her past boyfriends and always be on time, unlike Jack, be close to her, unlike Brad, and be her age, unlike Daniel. Basically, I was doing well. Amy and Joey were on good terms again, just…not really the friends they used to be. They were closer to Laura and me, then they were to each other now, and it still got awkward, especially when Joey stared at a girl too long and Amy opened her mouth to tell him off and realized- she couldn't do that anymore. Or when one of them scooted closer and then both realized what was happening and jumped apart.

It had basically ruined them and us, the whole friend group. We weren't really sure what to do.

Laura and I had danced once or twice, but neither of us really liked dancing all that much. Joey and Amy had gone after us to some other part of the gym, and they were nowhere in sight.

Joey was the one that came first, his face kind of flushed and looking really uncomfortable, and Amy forged through the crowd a few moments later to follow. Both of them looked rather uncomfortable, and I watched them for a minute.

"All right, what did you two do?" Laura asked after a moment. She was looking at Amy most of all, who nodded slightly and Laura almost squealed and broke my eardrums. Which really hurt. She flew at Amy and gave her a hug, while Joey pantomimed two stick figures…was it kissing?

"Did you two-" He cut me off as he started to blush and waved for me to be quiet.

"Yes." So they…kissed…on Valentine's Day…what was it with the two of them and holiday break/make ups?

"Are you two-"

"Yes." I stared. They had made it clear nothing was going to happen and all of a sudden. I needed to lie down. Basically, Joey was dating Amy again, and they'd kissed earlier. "It's not that big a deal, okay? It had been happening for months now." I'm pretty sure my eyes must have bugged out or something because, hello, that was a big deal. "Well, not kissing and stuff…but it had been leading up to this for like three weeks! You can't say that wasn't happening." And I couldn't. I guessed it was probably about time.

"Well, congrats, man." I gave him a hug and pat on the back before backing up and seeing Amy and Laura avidly talking, Laura's blonde hair partly curled and her blue eyes shimmering under the gym lighting, pink and red streamers partially hanging from the walls. If Percy and Annabeth were here, it would've been perfect.

Maybe it already was.

It was Valentine's Day and I had a wonderful girlfriend, and our two other friends had gotten together again. Hopefully, this time it wouldn't end in flames.

**Annabeth's POV:**

"Annabeth, are you sure?" I looked up at Piper just in time for the girl's kaleidoscopic eyes to change to sea green for the fraction of a second. I looked back down immediately, shaking my head again before nodding and looking back up at Piper. Blue, now. They changed back to a mix of green and brown, thankfully, before I could be reminded once again of both of the guys I loved, both of them gone.

"I'm sure. You and Jason go. I might go help Leo." She nodded and departed. Camp Half-Blood had more people than it usually did and they were hosting a Valentine's Day get together. I wasn't going. How could you go when your boyfriend was gone? We had no leads on him besides Jason's vague recollections of Camp Jupiter, the location of which he didn't yet have. His memories weren't all there.

Piper walked away and I walked towards bunker nine, remembering Percy.

_Annabeth knocked on the door of Cabin 3. No answer. "Percy? Are you in there?" she was bouncing on the balls of her feet they're reunion had been cut short by curfew last night and Annabeth was excited. "Percy?" her watch read eleven A.M. She turned the door quietly, unsure if he was asleep. The Achilles curse tired him out in ways she'd never thought possible for nightmare-prone Percy._

"_Percy?" she moved over to the bed, where there was no lump of boyfriend. The cabin was eerily still, and Annabeth's blood froze. "Where did you go?"_

That had been more than two months ago now. Winter Break started on the twelfth. Today was February 14th, and everybody was happy, and my boyfriend was gone.

I knocked. "Leo?" there was a small crash and I took it to know that the Latino son of Hephaestus was inside. "I'm coming in, okay?" another small crash that I took as Leo's assent. I stepped inside and blinked, not used to the glowing red hot tongs and coals that made Bunker Nine's lighting. "Hi." Leo was partially under what I assumed was to be the hull of the Argo II- a huge mass of Celestial Bronze so far. Festus's glowing bronze head was on a nearby table.

"Hi, Annabeth. What are you doing here? This is the place of the forever alone on Valentine's-" Leo realized who he was speaking to and what had happened to my love life four days before he, Jason and Piper showed up and how my boyfriend was still missing.

"Yup. He's still gone. I was going to hang around here if that's okay." He nodded and went back under the ship before speaking again.

"If you don't mind, Annabeth, I had a question about your boyfriend." I tensed but let him keep going. "Who _was_ he? Everyone seems to worship him but I've never really gotten the truth from someone who really knew him like you did, after all, he was your boyfriend. Who was he really, besides…savior of Olympus and all that jazz?"

"Percy was amazing. I'll tell you our story." I bit my lip. "Percy was brought in in his sixth grade year, at twelve years old, after defeating the Minotaur. I nursed him while he slept. He drooled in his sleep. I had a bit of a crush on him. We talked, in a zoo truck when going to Las Vegas. He asked me about my dad and told me about how amazing his mother was. It was when we really bonded." He gestured at me to continue, and I did. "And he eventually figured it out and even though our parents were enemies, he still tried to be friends with me even when it was really clear that I hated him."

"His will to save Grover was bigger than obeying Tantalus, and we ran away in seventh grade so that we could save him, and he opened his heart to Tyson even when it must have been humiliating to have a Cyclops as your brother, claimed, in camp. And when I asked him not to let me go, he tried, in my fogged mind I knew he was trying to stop himself from letting me go and die, and he saved me when I broke free and almost drowned trying to get to the island."

"He was an idiot trying to save Bianca and Nico by himself. But he tried, and he didn't stop believing I was alive when I knocked everyone into the snow and got kidnapped, he never gave up and he snuck onto the quest to save me. He beat himself up when Bianca died and tried to help Nico even when Nico pretty much hated him at that point." Leo was still listening, and I was happy that he was trying, with ADHD it couldn't have been easy even when it was about Camp's most famous hero.

"He was charismatic enough that a lot of girls liked him, and when I led my quest he tried to help me even though I didn't really want help, and he was trying to comfort Grover who hated tunnels, and even though he wasn't the leader this time he stepped up and even if he didn't try to be one he was, and he tried to help Ethan and Nico when they didn't want him to help them."

"He was with your brother Beckendorf when he died. He beat himself up about it and thought it was his fault when it wasn't, but he didn't know that. He was really sorry for Silena and he thought it was his duty to die like the prophecy said and he protected me when I took a poisoned knife for him. He recognized Luke as a hero and got him a shroud, and he…he turned down immortality and godhood." Leo looked at me then. "Yeah."

I walked out of the bunker and sat down on the ground.

_I'll get you back, Percy. Whether you like it or not._


	35. The End

**I don't know what to say anymore. Please read this? Maybe. I didn't think I'd get this far, to be honest. 35 chapters, in exactly three months. Yes. This is also the three month anniversary of Mortal Friendships today. **

**Three months ago, at 8 P.M., I uploaded a document called Mortal Friendships P1 onto Doc Manager. I clicked on New Story and filled out the information. And I clicked Publish New Story. When I woke up the next morning, I had three reviews and a few follows and favorites. Three months later, right now, I have more than 175 reviews, 100 follows, and 75 favorites and have written more than thirty chapters for you guys.**

**So it's a thank you. This is the first story I've completed so far, and it's also the most popular one I have right now. It's going to be odd not to get an email about a new chapter, or another review from JoeBob saying 'Keep Being Awesome' at the end.**

**Special thanks to:**

**HoO Storys for reviewing now and then and being very enthusiastic at times.**

**CaptainMcShizzle for reviewing Mortal Friendships a million times.**

**ThatGirlWithaCat for being yourself and writing really amusing reviews.**

**CabinSixResident for being betrayed by the fact that Mark and Laura are a thing.**

**Olympus Angel for being supportive and, you know, that reaction when I released thirty three.**

**123Thomas321 for reviewing.**

**An anonymous friend of mine who was very supportive. I would give you this for free but it isn't a book anyway so I don't have to!**

**And everyone, for being awesome in general!**

**And everyone else that has reviewed and clicked follow or favorite or even just read this story!**

**I think that sometime I might do a sequel, so look out for that. But maybe not.**

**Also, my poll is closing on May 21st, so sometime after that I will post the first chapter of whichever one that I'm writing next, which I don't know about yet. You can find the descriptions of the stories in the earlier chapters and/or my poll, which is displayed on my profile page. Please vote, I'm trying to write something all of you would like.**

**Olympus Angel: I know you weren't mad but. Still. Thank you though!**

**ASWW: thank you for reading this story.**

**Xiraxus: Yes, this is the chapter where it all ends and they will go to Camp Half-Blood.**

**ThatGirlWithaCat: you know, that was really sweet of you. Goodbye.**

**Mark's POV:**

I wasn't sure what we were doing here, to be honest. We were just sitting in the ice cream parlor, Joey and Amy on one side, Laura and I on the other, eating ice cream. It was late August again, and we were going to go back to school soon and hadn't gotten in touch with Annabeth for two months, since June. The bell attached to the door rang, and Joey looked up, his face going slack. We turned. And there they were, looking relatively healthy if not a little worse for wear. Annabeth on Percy's arm accompanied by six other people to make a group of nine. They all paraded to the counter, where they ordered their cones before sitting down at a nearby booth, and that was when Annabeth saw us. She pulled Percy's arm over and we stood cautiously.

"You're alive." Was the first thing I said when faced with Percy Jackson. He grinned faintly and gave us a small wave. "Where were you? We were worried." He appeared not to hear, and both groups walked outside. Annabeth smiled at us, and for once it was genuine and without a care in the world.

"I think that now, we can tell you the truth." Her tone was light and solemn at the same time, and the four of us watched her, disbelieving. "But we need to go to the park or something for this so you guys can sit down." Was Annabeth serious? She hadn't told us anything substantial for years and now she was ready? "Percy, Rachel hasn't said anything else, right?" Percy stared at Annabeth.

"Annabeth, Rachel can't. Remember? My dear old cousin's gone." She seemed to understand what Percy meant because she didn't question him, though I myself was rather confused. Annabeth didn't elaborate, however, and we walked across the street towards Golden Gate Park, where one of her friend spread a picnic blanket.

"So- what's happening?" I was kind of confused. One moment I was eating ice cream, the next I was sitting on a blanket in the park with Annabeth and her once-missing boyfriend. "Why are we here, and what are we doing here? Percy- you're supposed to be missing. Who are all these people?" All these people seemed to be wondering the same thing about us. A girl who had Native American skin, with dark brown hair with a blue feather in it and kaleidoscopic eyes was watching Annabeth was an unscrutable expression, holding the hand of a blond, blue eyed boy with a faint scar on his upper lip and a groove through the side of his hair. Next to him, but not close, was a dark haired girl and obsidian eyes, who watched him and the Native American girl with an unreadable expression. Next to her, that skinny pale boy named Nico, who flinched when an African American girl with cinnamon hair and golden eyes laid a hand on his shoulder, the girl's other hand clasped with an Asian boy who looked rather babyish and was a lot taller than the girl was.

"I'm being rude," Annabeth said after a heartbeat. She started speaking and gesturing. "This Piper," she indicated the Native American girl. "And Jason, Piper's boyfriend." The blond boy smiled faintly. "Reyna is the one next to him, and then Nico, Hazel, and Frank. And of course, you already know Percy." Percy grinned at us. "As for what happened to Percy, remember how I said we had a lead?" she leaned against Percy's chest. "Well, it was a good one, and we found him after…a lot of trouble." Her expression turned stormy. "But let's not dwell on that now."

Annabeth and her friends moved into a sort of huddle, and when they broke out Annabeth took a seat, her friends following suit. Annabeth leaned her head on Percy's shoulder and started to think. After a moment, she said, "I don't know how to approach this. I don't know how to do this at all." She looked oddly apprehensive and I wasn't sure what she was doing. "Um…"

"I'll start at the beginning." She nodded slightly to herself before steeling herself to speak again. "Um, our summer camp. Yes, would that be the beginning?" Percy nodded into her head, and she started to talk, not meeting our eyes, staring up at the clouds. "My summer camp is called Camp Half-Blood." She gestured at the orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt she was wearing. "Percy told you once that it was a camp for special kids. There's another one, near here, Camp Jupiter." She paused another moment. "All of us go to one or both of those camps." I watched them. So they were Annabeth's 'Camp' friends. "But it's a certain type of kid, it's not just a kid with issues." She took a deep breath and refused to meet our eyes.

"Do you remember what a demigod is?" Piper started laughing.

"Oh, my gods. I didn't know when you first picked us up. And Leo..." Her voice turned sad.

"Well, Piper, you found out soon enough." Annabeth sounded amused.

"A demigod is half human, half god." I said. Annabeth gestured at the people. Frank…turned into a cockatoo? A large red ruby appeared at Hazel's feet. Two skeletal hands clawed at the ground. Thunder rumbled in the clouds and Piper managed to somehow get Amy to do the chicken dance. Annabeth didn't do anything, but Percy took the water out of Jason's water bottle and made it twist around in the air. The rest of us were just staring, unsure what we were seeing, what was happening, what they were doing to make these tricks. That was what they were, right? Definitely tricks. It couldn't be real, nobody could control the water or jewels or anything like that, so it had to be some weird trick.

"Camp Half-Blood." Annabeth said. "Half-human, half-god." I stared at her. The gray eyes that you didn't see on anybody else, the oddity of them all gathered there together, like they weren't supposed to be there. Mr. Chase himself had said Annabeth didn't belong there, Annabeth had said she didn't belong here. She must've been joking though.

"You're on something," Laura said. Annabeth looked surprised for a moment before starting to laugh, really, really laughing.

"Really, Laura? Really?" she pulled out her glowstick and put it against her arm. Laura, Joey and Amy stared in horror. "I'm on something, huh?"

"What, why are you doing that?" Laura sounded terrified. "Why are you doing that?" Annabeth shook her head, suddenly throwing the glowstick, as it landed somewhere behind Laura, who screamed. I wasn't sure what was happening right now. Amy and Joey gasped, and they stared at Annabeth like she'd grown another head.

"You're- you're a murderer! Why did you do that? Laura's your friend!" they said, and Annabeth sounded rather amused.

"It would never have killed her. It couldn't even touch you, Laura." Laura looked horrified and was staring at Annabeth in fear. "It's called Celestial Bronze. Deadly to demigods and can't hurt mortals." However, Laura wasn't listening, and I was more than confused. What was Annabeth talking about, with the glowstick and mortals and demigods? She had to be crazy. "I know at least the three of you-" she gestured at Joey, Amy, and Laura- "have seen things that you thought had to be crazy. Men with one eye, or boys with goat feet, or just something along the lines of those. And you did see those. They were real, you just thought you were seeing things."

"I don't get what you mean," Laura said levelly, but I could see in her eyes that she was downright terrified of Annabeth right now for something I couldn't see. What had Annabeth done that was so horrible? "You just threw a knife at me. Why should I trust you?" A knife? "You threw a knife at me." Laura repeated. Out of curiosity, I reached for the glowstick, but the closer I got, the more it was…harder to reach. I pushed past the strange barrier in my muscles. As my fingers got closer, I realized that it appeared to be a knife. I picked up the handle, holding it far away from me in confusion. "Mark!" Laura scrambled away from me. I set it down and walked away. It remained a knife. I looked over at Annabeth in confusion.

"It was glowstick a few seconds ago. It's a knife now?" Annabeth nodded. "What's going on here?"

"The Greek gods are real, Mark. And…eleven of us here are their children." She gestured at herself and her friends and then at Amy and Joey who looked at her like she was crazy.

"What are you talking about now?" Annabeth started talking. Telling a story about her life, why she ran away, a thing called Camp Half-Blood. And adventures.

"Percy arrived after fighting off the Minotaur. I had to nurse him, and I thought he was probably the one I'd been waiting for, after all, a Minotaur. The Minotaur. And it turns out I was right in a few ways." She smiled fondly at Percy, who just grinned back with his sarcastic smile. Annabeth started speaking again. "I didn't think he could be it I mean; he was so stupid at the start. But then I realized that he was, and I guess it's a good thing. But he got he quest, and we drove down to a place called Auntie Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, and there was a woman there who called herself Auntie Em…"

"And then he tried to block me from his vision, but he'd left my knife close to me and I was able to cut myself free. By the time he realized I'd jumped ship, quite literally, I was already starting to drown as I tried to reach the Sirens' island, and he saved me." She smiled adoringly…

"But I knocked everyone into the snow and I jumped onto his back, and he was in pain and jumped off a cliff and took me with him, which was when I got kidnapped last winter. And then, according to him, the Hunters of Artemis- our friend and Percy's cousin, Jason's sister, Thalia, is part of them now- came and went to Camp with the rest of them. Turns out, Artemis was captured by Dr. Thorn's organization as well, and there was a quest. Percy wasn't chosen and he snuck along to help me…"

"And we fell into some sort of hole thing and we didn't know we had been in there for hours. But after that I knew we had found the Labyrinth and so I was the one to lead the quest as I and Clarisse had been studying the Labyrinth for a few months now. But I was given a horrible prophecy that I would lose a loved…"

"But Charlie wasn't with him and then when Silent found out she couldn't stop crying. And then we had to read the prophecy that concerned Percy's sixteenth birthday. A half blood child of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds, and see the world in endless sleep, the hero's soul cursed blade shall reap. And we all thought it meant Percy and he had just accepted the fact that he was going to die…"

"So I approach Percy, and he's just sitting there thinking and I offered him the cupcake and I told him that Tyson had helped, and he said, 'so that's why it looks like a chocolate brick. With blue cement' and shortly afterwards I kissed him but we were being spied on and the spies threw us in the lake to cool off as they put it."

"And so I didn't see Percy, it was just Jason Leo and Piper, and I kinda stormed up to Jason angrily but he didn't have any answers for me and I just let Butch bring us back to Camp Half-Blood, but we crashed the chariot into the lake. Shortly afterward, Leo was claimed as the son of Hephaestus, with power over fire as he showed you guys earlier."

"They just reappeared in the mess, Piper had a foot in Drew's pizza and Leo ran to the nearest brazier to throw up." And Annabeth has shining eyes and a happy smile on her face.

"So I was carrying June, and then Stheno and Euryale caught up to me and I was really annoyed because she was getting heavier and there were snake ladies chasing me. And Hazel and Frank were the sentries and Frank tried to shoot her but she wouldn't die so Hazel collapsed the tunnel…"

"And then I saw him smirk at me and I ran at him and kissed him and judo-flipped him in front of the whole Twelfth Legion."

"And Piper charmspoke the eidolons to all leave Jason, Leo and Percy, and Leo fell onto his plate because Frank wasn't willing to pick him up, and…well, it was peaceful for once…"

"So I wove the bridge across the books and hobbled along trying not to think about my ankle which had broken, and then I came into Arachne's room where I was eventually able to trick her into uncovering the Athena Parthenon and making a larger version of Chinese handcuffs. She crawled into it and was trapped, and Percy and the others blasted the underground open…"

"I don't know how long we were talking, but eventually I noticed water, the River Cocytus. I barely got Percy out alive…"

"Bob and Damasen sacrificed their lives to save us. They may not reform for millions of years. Hazel and Leo saved us from dying getting into the mortal world. Reyna had arrived while we were gone and had lost her Pegasus Scipio on the flight…she and Nico left later on to shadow travel the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood as a peace offering to save the Greeks and Romans from fighting…"

"We were getting better but it was still hard…"

"The giants knew we were coming and we lost the element of surprise. But Piper started singing 'Summertime' and she was able to transfix the king into taking us there and not leading us into a trap like he wanted to. She had to keep singing a few verses every so often but it was working. She really has a beautiful voice…" Annabeth smiles at the girl- Cherokee and Aphrodite, apparently- who smiled back nervously, hugging her knees and pulling her body in tighter together. She was apparently a rather nervous girl, from what we had seen and heard about her. And also a daughter of Tristan McLean.

"And Zeus basically slapped the boat all the way from Greece to Long Island, Leo barely got us all off in time before it basically died. And then the Greeks and the Romans were already starting to fight. We didn't know it at the time, but Coach Hedge's wife Mellie had delivered the baby earlier, and our medic Will Solace was the one who had to do it. He was disgusted afterwards…"

"And then Percy and I led the Greeks and Reyna and Frank the the Romans and we all started fighting, but Gaea made the ground quicksand and let the monsters be immune which was a big setback. But Leo swooped in on Festus and grabbed Jason and Piper, and also Gaea, and Piper started to charmspeak her to sleep while Jason kept her lifted in the air…"

"Nico said he was dead. And we believed him, even though Nico had felt something strange, it doesn't feel like Leo's coming back, we're only here to get him a Roman burial thing as well because he really was a true hero even if he did bomb New Rome under the eidolons' control."

"And here we are now. Talking to you." Annabeth finished. She'd probably been talking an hour, starting with when she'd run away and met Thalia and Luke, and kept talking, in great detail, about…her kidnapping, and what they'd been doing last August, and a lot of other things that we'd always found strange and now had the answers to. But were they the real answers? The things Annabeth was saying were fantastical answers, and they fit, they definitely fit. But Annabeth knew a lot of Greek mythology, Annabeth had a good imagination, and Annabeth could definitely have done this and made up this whole story and assembled all these people to feed us a lie. I couldn't put anything past Annabeth anymore.

"How do we know you aren't lying. That's a really, really fantastical lie. There is no such thing as the Greek gods, or Greek monsters, or Festus the Happy Dragon or the Lotus Hotel and Casino or anything like that. I think you're just trying to get out of telling us the truth like you have so many times it's not even funny." Annabeth didn't look very crushed by this, instead, she looked almost relieved.

"Okay, then, if you don't want the truth then I don't have to give it to you." My friends, however, didn't seem to have the same opinion about what Annabeth was saying. In fact, they almost looked like they believed her. Why was this happening? If we were going to get the truth, we would have gotten it by now. "But, Mark, can I speak to your dad? I need to talk about him with something in his matter of expertise." My dad was an artist, paintings, that sort of thing. He was sometimes hired to do paint jobs and cars and things because he was so oddly good at it. I didn't see what was bad about this statement, so I got up in defeat and started walking back to my house, very aware that Amy, Joey, and Laura were following me, as well as Percy and Annabeth and the other six people they'd brought here to tell us a fantastical lie.

"Hey, Mr. Adams. I was wondering if I could speak to you about your mother." I was taken aback by this statement. "And Mrs. Adams, your father?" my mom and dad looked at Annabeth like she was crazy, but Annabeth proceeded to tell them a run down of the same lie she'd tried to feed us earlier…and succeeded in selling to my friends.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Adams, I forgot to say, I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. I'm from Camp Half-Blood." Oddly enough, recognition showed in my dad's eyes. He looked at Mom who scrutinized Annabeth for a moment before nodding. "I've been Mark's friend for a while, and since he isn't, you know, a demigod, it wouldn't be good to tell him. However, I need someone to back him up since he thinks I'm lying, and all my friends. I don't know if you've heard that the prophecy about the Big Three has passed." My dad nodded. "And also the Prophecy of Seven." He nodded at that too. "Can you help us with Mark?"

"Of course. I can't refuse the Saviors of Olympus, now, can I?" Annabeth laughed at this, looking surprisingly carefree as her eyes sparkled, but she stopped after a moment. "Mark, she's telling the truth. I know you don't think so, but I should know. I was at Camp Half-Blood once too, and while I wasn't doing as many quests as your friend Annabeth has done, I had my share of demigod fun. Your mother, here, went to Camp Jupiter, and we met when I went to Berkeley. Of course, our part of the rivalry was resolved." Mom's eyes were shining, and she seemed oddly excited and happy. I'd never really seen either of my parents this way and it, kind of scared me to be honest.

"Then what am I?" Annabeth paused for a moment before speaking again, her voice kind of muted. "If Amy's, like, the daughter of Demeter, then what are the rest of us? Why did you tell all of us?"

"Because you all got past Camp Half-Blood's barrier. Amy is the daughter of Demeter." Annabeth stared at Joey for a moment. "Demeter told us that he's the son of a minor god."

"You're a…the Romans call them legacies. The son or daughter of a demigod or two demigods, not powerful enough to be a demigod but not…not fully mortal either. That's…why you couldn't see the blade until you got close enough. And why you got into the barrier." Annabeth smiled after a moment. "Laura is clear-sighted. It means she's still mortal, but she can see through the Mist. Our friend Rachel, the Oracle, remember, she's a clear sighted mortal. Laura squeezed my hand and gave my mom and dad a small smile. They'd known her before we started dating but now, she was spending a lot more time at my house and had since become quite familiar with the parental units.

"Come on, Mark. We have to go. I'll let you guys go to Camp Half-Blood if you want, just for a little bit." Amy's face practically lit up.

"I need to lie down." Annabeth looked concerned but shrugged this off, obviously knowing that this was a big shock to someone like me who had pretty much had a normal life up until two hours ago when Annabeth came to San Francisco and walked into our old ice cream shop, the one that all of us hung out together in. Percy had been part of that at one point.

Annabeth flashed me a smile, and right then I knew it was the truth.

* * *

"Hi, Mark!"

"Hi, Katie." She smiled at me before leaning her head against Travis's shoulder. "Whatcha doing?" Katie paused for a moment before speaking again.

"Travis and I are going out into the city. We're going to have a date or something, but trickster here won't tell me." Travis laughed.

"Boo!" I jumped and relaxed as Laura started laughing and hugged me from behind. "Scared ya, didn't I?" I nodded into her arms. "Ha! Mortals can do just as much damage. Admit it." She poked me. We'd been having an ongoing argument between whether mortals were as dangerous as legacies, and I was all for legacies while she thought that we were just mortals with eternally high energy. I wasn't sure if I should think she was right or not, especially since she was being quite annoying with it. Though, if I was just a mortal when all my friends were something different, I guess I'd be kind of insecure about it too.

"Come on!" she pulled me up and off the grass with surprising strength, though I had always been kind of lightweight. "Amy and Joey are at the strawberry fields. I said we'd meet them, and you're- not- making- us- late!" she was trying to unsuccessfully tug my arm out of its socket.

"Okay, okay!" Amy was with the other children of Demeter, where a rose bush was starting to bloom at her feet. Our weeklong stay at Camp Half-Blood was coming to a close, but it had been a great week.

"Hi!" Amy gave me a hug. She was silent for a moment.

"I can't believe how beautiful it is here." She spoke quietly. "I can't believe I didn't know about this until a week ago." I agreed with her statement even though I was out of place here. Chiron remembered my dad, but Camp Half-Blood didn't really have legacies, though everyone was expecting a few 'Percabeth' babies to come to Camp Half-Blood one day.

"Yeah." She bit her lip and glanced at me before staring back at Long Island Sound.

"You're staying here, aren't you?" she turned to me in surprise before nodding sadly.

"Yeah. I am. Please- please understand, I…I've never really fit in and you know it. And now, now I know- this is where I'm supposed to be! You know." She hugged me again. "I'm going to miss you and Laura. Joey's…he won't stay here." Joey had been determined as the son of Janus. "He's going to Camp Jupiter, and…well, I'm going to go to school in New York, for junior and senior year, I guess. It's…it's my home. You understand, right? I have to do this." I nodded slowly. "Thank you." She gave me a soft glance before telling Laura the same thing.

Joey was moving to Camp Jupiter. We'd thought Amy would go with him, and they'd still be close to us. But now, Amy was going to the camp on the East Coast. Not close to us at all. I knew that we'd have left one day in a few years…off to colleges. I just hadn't thought it would be this soon, and for this reason. I saw Percy and Annabeth talking and laughing with Jason and Piper, exchanging hugs, and going on their way. This was their home. But it wasn't mine or Laura's. And Laura was going to go soon too. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hanson, were splitting up as we spoke. That was part of the reason Laura was with us, was because they didn't want her to have to be at court as they filed for divorce and custody. Laura's mother was moving to Ohio, and Laura would be going with her. Mr. Hanson had been a good dad for her, maybe, but he'd never been what she needed. She'd be following her mother to Ohio, away from me.

* * *

"I'm really going to miss you." Laura was hugging me tightly. "I'm sorry." She took a step back, her cheeks flushed and her hands in fists. Mrs. Hanson had commandeered a taxi and we had two minutes. She hesitated before standing back up on tiptoe and giving me a kiss on the cheek. Both of us had known we'd ruin our relationship by trying long distance, and so the breakup was for the best, and really, it wasn't.

"Bye." She was starting to cry now. "I'll visit…we'll visit for Thanksgiving. Skype me." She turned and walked out the door of Mr. Hanson's home. Her dad had left earlier today, after exchanging a goodbye with his daughter.

"Mark." Amy smiled sadly at me. "My flight leaves in two hours. I have to go. I'll…well, you heard Laura. We'll visit for Thanksgiving. I don't know when we can talk, but…try, okay? I won't hesitate to pick up if I can." Joey was waiting.

"I'll miss you, man. Take- take care in New Rome." He nodded gruffly and left, but less than a half minute later we were all in a group hug.

Laura's mother drove away in the direction of the East, Amy headed down another way to the airport and Joey to the last.

When I sat on the roof that night, hugging my knees and watching the sunset, I wasn't sad. We'd be back together soon, and I could wait.

This wasn't the end of our mortal friendships.

_The End_

**It's not the end, though. A nice thing about stories that end like this is you can imagine what's going to happen. I'll post a one-shot some time soon.**

**Again, thank you to everyone who has read this.**

**Thank you**

**Ellie**

**Olympus**

**JoeBob**

**HoO Storys**

**And a nameless girl who supports me no matter what and doesn't hesitate to say things that are so her that I can't help smiling, and probably won't read this which is a good thing because she'll know it's her. You are the best, you know?**

**That was a lot sadder than I thought it would be. This end happened on the spur of the moment. Once again, I've had a great time writing Mortal Friendships. I hope you had a great time reading it.**

**Nymph of Faeryland**


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